Forever Begins with the Ocean's Tides
by insaneantics21
Summary: AU: Captain Quinn Fabray is in love with the sea and her ship, The Cheerio, but when the crew of The Cheerio takes over the Glee and they find some unexpected crew members on board the captain starts to question everything around her.
1. Chapter 1

Just a little more in detail about the story before you begin:

**Pairings:** Quinn/Santana, Puck/Kurt, Brittany/Santana, Rachel/Quinn  
Mentions: Quinn/Finn, Quinn/Puck, Santana/Puck, Rachel/Finn  
Other Characters: Artie, Mike, Will, Russell & Judy Fabray, Matt, mentions Sue**  
****Length:** 27,800+ words in 14 chapters  
**Rating:** NC-17 for a few chapters but mostly PG-13/R  
**Author's Note:** Dear sweet gods..._finally_! I have no idea how long I've been working on this but it feels like it's been a really long time.

* * *

**-Chapter 1-**

The smell of salt. The fresh, open air. The complete and total freedom. All things Captain Quinn Fabray loved about her life. She'd loved the ocean and had been fascinated with ships ever since she could remember. This early morning late in the summer she lay awake in her comfortable bed she had "acquired" from another ship's captain in a "deal" they'd made ("I get what I want from your ship or you get tied to a cannon and tossed overboard," she'd politely offered, the tip of her steel pressed against his chin) and she let her mind wander and drift into memories, some more innocent than others. She inhaled the scent of the ocean that lingered in her cabin and smiled. Today was going to be good.

She'd been on ships since she was born. As a matter of fact she was actually born on a ship owned by her father's trade company which is how she got her name, after the ship _Quintessence_. She knew the ins and outs of how the sails worked and could tie almost any knot by the age of seven. Her father couldn't be more proud. When she was on vacation from the elite private schools she attended in her home city of New York she would go with him on one of his trade routes up and down the coast of America and he promised her that when she finished school one day he would sail her away to Europe to see the finest art and taste the best food the world had to offer. When she got a little older he talked about how one day, when she married, her husband would take over the trading company and Quinn would follow in her mother's footsteps of being an obedient wife who was spoiled and showered with the best things money could buy. Quinn protested saying that _she_ would be the one taking over the company someday. Her father just chuckled and said that someday she'd learn her place.

It all changed when she was sixteen. She began courting Finn Hudson, a young man her parents definitely approved of. His father was known as a war hero throughout the Royal Army and even though he was slightly dim, he came from good blood and a good name and that was what mattered. When it became known that another young man, Noah Puckerman, had successfully wooed Quinn one summer evening the courtship was broken and Quinn was disowned for being a "filthy harlot" and "a complete disappointment to the name of Fabray". She was just happy there were no lingering consequences in the form of a bastard child she would have to be burdened with for the rest of her life.

Quinn did the one thing she could think of to do at that point and found a captain, Sue Sylvester, who allowed women to work on her ship, the _Cheerio_, and immediately joined up. She traded away her beautiful pale blue dress she had been wearing when she was disowned for black pants, sensible shoes and a few loose white shirts. The captain gave her an old piece of steel and Quinn fell in love with the weight in her hands. She practiced every day with whoever was willing. Ducking, tucking, rolling. It took very little time for her to become proficient in swordplay.

Quinn met another girl her age on the ship and they immediately gravitated towards each other. Santana Lopez had worked her way up in the ranks and Quinn knew if she stuck by Santana and shared her knowledge of trade routes and how professional ships worked that she would soon be second to the captain. And in a year's time, she was. Santana didn't seem to mind much, mostly because when she would try to protest Quinn would shut her up by bedding her for hours on end until the Latina girl could barely walk. Quinn knew what she wanted and she would do anything to get it, Santana included.

Quinn was twenty when the captain retired and left the ship in her hands. She hired a few new crew members because although she did respect Captain Sylvester very much, the cook was horrible and served very little food. Sylvester insisted it kept the crew in shape and on their toes. While on her search for new crew members Quinn somehow managed to run into the young man that stole her innocence and got her into this whole mess when she was sixteen. She reluctantly gave him the cook's job after the crew tasted his food at a tavern and demanded they get whoever prepared the meal as their cook. He said it was no deal unless his young "assistant cook", a very feminine boy with pink rosy cheeks named Kurt Hummel, came with him. Quinn made the deal but could tell right away that Kurt had absolutely no cooking skill at all and designated him as her personal messenger. She quickly grew attached to him even if he was kind of annoying.

When Quinn recalled all of these things on occasion she didn't have any regrets, really. She was captaining a very successful ship at the age of twenty-five, she had Santana as her first mate and occasional lover, she wasn't rich like she would have been had she just followed her father's orders and saved herself for her husband but she still had quite a bit of wealth tucked under her belt. She'd just finished "visiting" a few ports in Europe to get away from the colonies for a while because her ship was constantly being hunted by the Royal Navy. It had been almost a year and she was ready to return to sell off the treasures they'd "acquired" in Europe and so they were sailing through the Atlantic on their way back home.

"Captain!"

Quinn opened her eyes and looked over at the messenger boy. She rolled her eyes at his choice of clothing for the day. His shirt was pink and he had a gray jacket complete with tails over it and of course his tight black pants and shiny black shoes.

"What kind of color is that for a pirate?" Quinn grumbled at Kurt's bright pink shirt. "Are you trying to look like a mermaid or does it just come naturally?"

"The launderer mixed in one of my red handkerchiefs in with my white shirts," Kurt sighed. "I'm not too disappointed though, I think it's a rather magnificent color. I'm not sure if Puck agrees…he ripped the other one clean off me last night." He smirked.

Quinn groaned. "Have you talked to the navigator this morning?" she asked, getting out of her warm bed into the cool air of her cabin. She stepped behind the screen in one corner and changed from her white nightdress into her loose black pants, white shirt, long red vest, and black knee high boots while Kurt rattled off latitudes and longitudes. Quinn stepped out from behind the divider and went to her desk to look at the map and plot the points Kurt had recited.

Kurt made his way to the table in the middle of Quinn's cabin where a large glass container held a small orange octopus that was swimming around. He carefully shifted the lid and then pulled a few live shrimp out of his small leather bag and dropped them into the tank.

"Good morning to you, Juliet!" Kurt cooed.

"Why do you insist on speaking to my octopus as if it can understand you, Hummel?" Quinn paused looking at her charts to pull her hair up in a bun.

"Because she needs _someone_ to talk to."

"I will never understand you."

Quinn turned her attention back to her desk and dipped her quill in ink again before scribbling a few notes in her captain's log and checked her calendar.

"Eighteenth of August," she mumbled while she wrote. "Year seventeen forty-three. Weather patterns normal for location…"

Kurt sighed and moved away from the glass container. "Exactly how much longer are we going to be out here, Captain?" Kurt whined. "We're running low on soap."

Quinn looked at her charts again. "A month if the wind keeps up, month and a half at the longest. Carolina will be on the horizon before you know it." Quinn dropped her quill and grabbed her belt containing her sword and strapped it to her waist, sword hanging to the left. She strapped her loaded pistol on and it hung to the right and grabbed her worn leather three-cornered hat.

"We _need_ soap."

"Assuming his European trade routes haven't changed, which they never do, we're due to run into a cargo ship soon," Quinn said, looking at the map again. "Let's go see what my worthless crew is up to this morning."

Kurt sighed and followed Quinn from her cabin out onto the main deck. The crew was working diligently scrubbing every inch of the ship. Santana wasn't at her post by the navigator at the wheel and Quinn knew exactly where she was. Judging by the look on Kurt's face, he knew too. The pair made their way up the steps to the quarter deck where the navigator was checking his compass. Their suspicions of Santana's whereabouts were confirmed when the Latina emerged from the hatch that opened to the bottom of the ship and a hand reached up and smacked her backside. She squealed and looked up at Quinn and Kurt who were staring down at her furiously. The Latina only smirked and climbed the remaining steps up to the main deck and then ascended to the quarter deck.

"Have a good morning?" Quinn growled.

The Latina glanced at Kurt.

Quinn turned to Santana and grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her in close.

"I'm getting sick of having to tell you this you little harlot," Quinn hissed. "My bed is the _only_ one you lie in, Santana. And you _especially _don't lie in Puck's."

Santana leaned in and pressed her lips to Quinn's. The captain growled and pulled away.

"_I'm_ the captain of this ship and you _will_ follow my orders. Sylvester left this ship to _me_. You are _mine_."

Santana shrugged. Quinn dipped her hand down into the Latina's shirt and groped her for good measure.

"My bed tonight," Quinn demanded before stepping over to the navigator.

"When someone calls for me I answer." Santana nodded.

Quinn looked down onto the main deck at a few members of the crew who had stopped their work to watch the scene.

"What are you all gawking at you filthy dogs?" Quinn yelled. "Back to work before I hang every last one of you!" There was a collective gasp before everyone scrambled back to their chores.

Quinn talked with the day navigator, Artie (a young man who couldn't walk due to a swordfight gone horribly wrong but could navigate with astounding accuracy), about their course to the Carolinas and the wind and other weather related things while Kurt stood by and glared holes into Santana's head. Santana slipped her arm around Quinn's waist and settled her chin on the captain's shoulder.

...............

While Quinn was enjoying her lunch in her cabin Kurt burst in unannounced and Quinn made a mental note to reprimand him for it later by taking away his soap for a week.

"What do you want, Hummel?" Quinn wiped her mouth and finished the large glass of wine before her.

"They've spotted a ship, Captain."

Quinn dropped her fork and hurried out onto the deck. She ascended the mast to the crow's nest and grabbed the spare telescope from its case that was strapped to the railing.

"How long do you think until we catch her, Captain?" Mike, the day lookout, asked.

Quinn looked out and sure enough there was a cargo ship flying her father's flag. She could see the layout of it in her head because all of her father's ships were exactly the same. She knew where each individual cargo item was stored and exactly how to get it. The ship was deep in the water which meant it the hull was full and they could catch up to it easily.

"We could do it right now if we wanted, she's deep in the water and moving slow. We'll wait until nightfall though, as always. And it's the _Glee_ which means Schuester which means an easy capture and offload."

The man nodded and Quinn climbed back down to the main deck and then up to Santana and the navigator, Kurt followed close behind.

"Have them run up the French flag while there's daylight," she told Santana. "We'll stay far behind until nightfall but I don't want to take any chances."

Santana nodded and went down to the main deck to start barking orders.

"Keep them in your sights," Quinn told Artie. "You know the drill at nightfall. Follow the lights and get up to the port side."

"Aye, Cap'n."

This was definitely a good day.


	2. Chapter 2

**-Chapter 2-**

At nightfall Quinn gave the order to extinguish all lanterns and commanded that all sails be raised. The wind was picking up and it wouldn't be long before they would get close enough to board the cargo ship. Quinn waited patiently at the bow with Santana at her side, an arm around the first mate's waist and her other hand gripping onto a bottle of rum she shared with the Latina.

Quinn wasn't in love with Santana. She was fond of her and she cared about her and she was extremely possessive of her but she wasn't in love with her. Quinn was in love with the sea and the smell of salt and the feel of the wind whipping through her hair. The sea was always constant. It didn't change and that was what Quinn loved about it. Santana knew it and Quinn knew that someday Santana would probably leave her for someone they met while at a dodgy port but for the time being, Santana was hers and Quinn was happy with that even if the Latina did stray every now and then.

The crew started readying themselves on Quinn's command. The ship was close now, Quinn could see the enemy men stationed on the stern and up in the crow's nest. Their maneuvers were perfect, as always. When the bow was close enough they executed feats usually reserved for circus performers and launched a few crew members from the bow of _The Cheerio_ to the stern of the _Glee_ and they held loaded pistols to the navigator and his guards' heads. Artie steered the ship up along the port side of the _Glee_ and the rest of the crew boarded save for Quinn, Santana, Kurt, Puck, and a few others that would be left behind to keep watch.

Quinn watched proudly as her crew carried out her orders and lined the crew of the _Glee_ up alongside the railing and gave the signal for her to board. Never one to make a quiet appearance Quinn grabbed a hold of a rope tied up to main mast gaff and took a running leap, clearing the space between the two ships and dropping to the main deck of the _Glee_ with ease. Santana followed close behind. Kurt walked the plank between the two ships and mumbled something about girls and dramatic entrances.

"Go," she yelled at her crew members. Kurt poked her in the shoulder. She growled. "If there's soap, get some before Hummel drives me mad."

Kurt smiled.

There was a unison "aye captain" from her crew before the ones that weren't guarding the other ship's crew headed to the hull to start hauling out the cargo. Kurt stood by the hatch to the hull with his parchment and lead pencil to take inventory of what came up. Quinn walked up and down the line of crew members until she reached the captain.

"Captain Schuester, we meet again," Quinn said with a smirk, touching the tip of her sword to the bottom of his chin. "Still using lard to keep your hair nice and slick, I see."

"Why are you doing this, Quinn?" the man asked softly. "Your father…"

"Don't you dare try to defend him, Schuester," Quinn spat. "I made one mistake in my entire life and he threw me out like a piece of trash. He is the one that made this possible to happen. I wouldn't have become this if he had an ounce of forgiveness in him."

"Quinn there is still time. There's something you need to know…"

"Shut your mouth. I don't want to hear your sissy horseshit. Captain Sylvester was right, you're pathetic."

Captain Schuester turned bright red and the next thing Quinn knew he had shouted an order and his crew members sprang into action. They were pulling guns out of their shirts and swords from holsters. Quinn reacted quickly, barking out orders to take no prisoners and then for a few minutes it was war on the Atlantic. Quinn put all of her sword training to good use as did her crew members. Schuester pulled his steel from its holster and raised it at Quinn. She smirked.

Their swords connected repeatedly, Quinn expertly ducked and rolled at just the right times and Schuester was getting angrier and charging at her and she knew she had him where she wanted him. When people's tempers flared they took risks and acted on impulse, not training. Quinn got a bit too cocky for a moment when she tried to jump up on the railing to get a height advantage and Schuester's sword grazed her left arm. She didn't let the anger get to her, she just went on fighting and finally with a perfectly placed high kick to his wrist his sword went flying overboard and she pinned him against the main mast, the blade of her sword pressed across his neck.

"Either call them off or they all die," Quinn growled. "And you will watch. Every. Single. One."

Schuester nodded and started shouting for his crew to step down. Quinn's crew had most of his cornered and some had fallen but the few remaining fighters that were still standing and fighting dropped their weapons.

"Good job, Schuester," Quinn said with a smirk. "Your crew is trained well and so are you. So predictable. Anything for your precious band of worthless mouth-breathers, hm? You want to know what happens when you try to defy me, _Captain_?" Schuester swallowed hard. "Lopez!"

Santana came running and stood obediently next to Quinn. "Yes, Captain?"

"Tell the crew not to unload the ship just yet. I need them all here for this. Make sure they all have a shot."

"Aye."

Quinn looked back to Schuester and smiled. "When we're finished the only living souls on this ship will belong to me and my crew." She looked over her should back to Santana. The Latina had an evil grin on her face.

"Line up the mouth-breathers!" Santana yelled. "Check below, I want every single one of them up here _now_! Go, before I shoot all of you as well!"

Quinn tied Schuester to the main mast facing his crew members which were lined up along the starboard railing, one-on-one with Quinn's crew. The crew of _The Cheerio_ had their pistols raised, ready to take orders from their captain. Quinn smirked when she looked at Schuester; his attempt at looking stoic was failing him miserably and she wondered how he could have ever worked his way up to being a captain.

"You will watch this," she hissed at him. "Crew, ready!"

Her crew cocked their levers back.

"Take aim!"

The crew remained in their places, pistols aimed at the others' heads.

"Captain, wait!" Kurt yelled from the hatch. He scurried over to Quinn and leaned in close to her. "Captain, there's a problem."

Quinn glared at the boy. "How could there quite possibly…"

Kurt pointed over at the hatch and out of it emerged two women wrapped in blankets. Because the light was dim, Quinn couldn't clearly see them until another of her crew members appeared out of the hatch after the two women with a lantern. Quinn stepped forward and saw they were both clutching desperately to their blankets and shaking.

One of them was a tall blonde with sharp features and light eyes. Very obviously Dutch. The other was short with dark hair and tanned skin and dark eyes. Quite possibly Italian, Quinn thought, maybe Spanish.

"Names?" Quinn barked.

"Rachel Berry," the short one answered.

"Brittany…" the tall blonde mumbled her last name but Quinn couldn't hear and she figured even if she could that she wouldn't be able to pronounce it anyway.

"You both speak English?"

The women nodded.

"Why are you on a ship going from Europe to the colonies, then?"

"I went to Europe seven years ago to pursue an acting career," Rachel replied. "I met Brittany in Paris, she's a dancer. We recently decided we wanted to go back to the colonies so we made our way to a port and one of the crew got us jobs in the kitchen."

"I see."

"Please don't hurt us."

Quinn stepped back and looked up and down the short brunette. She pulled a flask from her pocket and took a deep drink of rum. The warmth washed over her body and she smirked.

"I bet you're really pretty underneath that."

"I…" Rachel arched her eyebrow. "Thank you?"

"Drop the blanket," Quinn commanded. She took another drink and tucked the flask back in her pocket.

Rachel looked up at the captain wide eyed. "What?"

"Drop. The. Blanket."

Rachel looked around and stepped up close to the captain. "No! I am in my nightdress and there are _men_ here!" she whispered. "This is inappropriate! Europe may be slightly more open-minded than the colonies because of the colonies' Puritan founding but not that much of the European culture has influenced me and furthermore…"

Quinn groaned and rubbed her temple. "Okay, if I say you can keep the blanket will you shut up?"

Rachel's jaw snapped shut.

"Santana!"

Santana was at her side quickly. Quinn looked down at the Latina only the brunette's eyes were not focused on her. She was looking over at the tall blonde with a hint of lust in her eyes. Quinn glanced to Brittany and the blonde's blue eyes were locked with Santana's and she was smiling. Quinn pulled her away from the women and forced Santana's attention back to her.

"Have someone get their things and take them to _The Cheerio_. They can stay in your quarters tonight, you'll stay with me. Unload the cargo and let the rest go."

"What about…"

"Don't question me. When you're finished go back to the ship. I want you in my quarters when I return."

"Aye," Santana said softly.

Santana nodded and put on her first-mate face and started barking orders. Quinn moved back to Rachel and circled her a few times. Quinn stopped in front of her and the brunette looked at the deck; Quinn put her fingers under the shorter girl's chin and tilted her head up.

"Rachel Berry. I bet when you don't have a blade pressed to your neck you're a feisty little thing, aren't you?"

"I…I…"

"So you're an actress?"

Rachel nodded. "And a singer."

"She's good," Brittany chimed in.

Quinn smirked and looked over Brittany's shoulder to Santana who was yelling at the crew. "I'm sure both of your voices will be put to good use before this trip is over with."

"Wha…" Rachel gasped.

"Go," Quinn ordered, pointing to the men who were standing by the plank waiting to escort the pair to _The Cheerio_.

"Yes, Captain," Rachel whispered.

Quinn leaned down to the brunette's ear and whispered, "Call me Quinn." She smirked and pressed a kiss just below the brunette's earlobe. She reached around and smacked Rachel's backside.

When Quinn pulled back, Rachel's eyes were the size of saucers and her mouth was gaped open.

"That is just uncalled for!" Rachel shrieked. "You are despicable! And the rum causes you to have horrible breath, by the way! I fully intend to…" Before Rachel could continue Brittany pulled her to the plank and a few crew members followed the pair over with their belongings.

Quinn watched over the next few hours as Schuester's crew was tied up and the cargo was slowly loaded from one ship to the other. When her crew was finished Quinn moved back to Schuester who was still tied to the mast.

"Thank you, Quinn," he said.

"I didn't do it for you," she spat. "Mouth-breather."


	3. Chapter 3

Yarrr. Here there be pirate sex. Because, really, you write a Glee-pirate story and don't throw in a little pirate sex. It just doesn't happen. =P

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**-Chapter 3-**

As ordered, Santana was waiting for Quinn when she entered her quarters. Quinn was met with a passionate kiss and she turned around quickly to lock the door before she pulled the Latina's shirt off and grabbed hold of her perfect breasts and her thumbs ran over the brunette's already hardened nipples. Santana's hands roamed around Quinn's waist and undid the buckle on her belt containing her sword holster and it dropped to the floor with a crash followed by the pistol. Santana pushed Quinn against the door and pulled at her shirt until it, too, hit the floor. Quinn moaned when Santana's lips traveled down her neck and to her chest. She groaned when she felt her left nipple gripped between Santana's teeth.

"S…" she gasped when her other nipple was assaulted. Quinn threaded her fingers through Santana's hair and the Latina came back up and hungrily attacked her lips.

Santana pulled Quinn by the waist of her pants to the bed. She dropped down and Quinn looked down at her and smiled. The captain bent down and pulled off her boots and then Santana's. Santana reached forward and undid the belt on Quinn's pants. She kissed just above Quinn's navel and pulled her pants passed Quinn's hips and to the floor. Quinn stepped out of them and then dropped to the bed on her knees, straddling Santana's lap. The brunette pulled back and moved to the head of the bed, Quinn followed. Santana gripped her back and flipped the two over. Quinn hurriedly undid Santana's belt and discarded her pants and the Latina smirked. She pinned Quinn's hands over her head with one arm and her free hand traveled down Quinn's stomach and between her legs.

Quinn cried out when Santana immediately pushed three fingers inside her. She struggled against the Latina's grip on her hands and cried out again with the next thrust.

"Oh God…Santana! S! Oh…oh God!"

Santana only grunted and kept thrusting. Her thumb found Quinn's swollen bud and pressed against it and the captain was rendered utterly helpless as she came undone underneath the Latina. Her arms were released and Santana settled on top of her. Quinn wrapped her arms around her first mate's back and traced the soft skin with her fingers, perfectly content to cuddle for a while. Santana got impatient and grabbed one of Quinn's hands and guided it down between her legs.

"Someone's eager," Quinn mumbled, her fingers slipping through the wet curls.

Santana only moaned and arched her hips up so Quinn could go further. She straddled Quinn's hips and looked down at her captain and smiled. The moment her lips touched the blonde's again, Quinn pushed two fingers inside her and Santana moaned into the kiss. Quinn quickly added a third and started thrusting, Santana squirmed and moved her hips to get the fingers deeper.

"Harder," the Latina growled.

Quinn obliged and Santana was moaning and yelling her name and sporadic Spanish phrases that Quinn never could figure out. She only pushed harder and deeper, her other hand settling on Santana's lower back to push her into the thrusts. Santana came undone around her quickly. She cried out in Spanish again but her last whimper was Quinn's name and the captain smiled before wrapping her arms around her first mate once again.

"Why did you do that tonight, Quinn? Why did you let them go and bring those women on board?" Santana asked once she had recovered.

"You want to get on that Dutch girl's good side? Killing off the entire crew of the ship that's taking her home probably isn't a good way to do that."

Santana cleared her throat and shifted a little. "I don't know what you're…"

"I saw the way you looked at her. If you want her then she's yours, given she consents to it of course."

"You…you'll let me…"

Quinn smiled and touched her fingers to Santana's jaw. "If you really want her then tonight will be the last for us," she whispered. Quinn touched her lips to Santana's cheek and the Latina nodded. "I knew you'd leave me someday, S. She was looking at you, too."

"I don't want to hurt you," Santana said. "I know I'm horrible to all of them but you know I care about you."

"It's okay. If you want her, she's yours. I'll manage." Quinn smiled and Santana nodded. The captain kissed her first mate and Santana settled her head on Quinn's chest.

...............

Quinn woke up alone the next morning. She put her clothes on quickly and looked out the window in her room. The sun hadn't completely come up yet. She breathed in the scent of the ocean before shutting the window and exiting her cabin. The mist from the ocean was settled on the deck and only a few crew members were stirring; the night navigator at the wheel, the watchman up in the crows nest and the watchman up at the bow. She squinted hard at the out-of-place figure on the port side of the ship and crossed the deck quickly. Rachel was standing there looking out at nothing, wrapped in a blanket.

"You're up early," Quinn said, leaning on the railing.

"Santana and Brittany are getting to know each other," Rachel said flatly.

Quinn sighed. "Of course."

"Santana won't hurt her, will she?"

"No, she won't. She might say the wrong thing every now and then but she'll always make it up to me…her. She'll always make it up to her."

Rachel smiled and shook her head. "It's interesting, isn't it? How some people can just look at each other and _know_."

"You're one of those hopeless romantic types, aren't you?"

"_Romeo and Juliet_ is my favorite play," Rachel said with a shrug.

"Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean," Quinn spoke softly, looking out to the lifting mist.

Rachel looked up at the blonde's profile. "From forth and fatal loins of these two foes a pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whole misadventured piteous overthrows do with their death bury their parents' strife."

Quinn nodded.

"How do you know Shakespeare, Quinn?"

"Come with me," Quinn said, offering a hand.

Rachel hesitated. "How much of that vile drink have you had this morning?"

"I don't drink before lunch. I'm not going to force you into my bed, don't worry."

"Well with how you treated me last night it's a legitimate concern."

Quinn gritted her teeth and retracted her hand. "I…I ap-apologize," she said, jaw clamped shut, looking down at the deck, hand on the back of her neck. "I get a little...abrasive when I have a few drinks."

Rachel smiled a little and nodded. "I accept your apology, Quinn. I just ask that it not happen again."

Quinn nodded slightly Rachel reached her hand out. Quinn sighed and took the offering. She led Rachel across the deck and into her quarters. Quinn lit a lantern to give more light than what was coming in through the singular window. She looked through the shelves of books above her desk and pulled a leather-bound and covered book out and handed it to the brunette.

"There were only one hundred of these printed," Quinn said. "Most people don't know they exist. The royals have about thirty of them last anyone knew. What George does with them, I have no idea. Probably just something else to brag about, the brat."

"What is it?" Rachel looked over the book's cover.

"Open the front cover. Be careful, though, the pages are pretty brittle considering it's about a hundred and fifty years old."

Rachel opened the cover and looked up at Quinn.

"It's _Romeo and Juliet_."

"Look right under the title."

Rachel did and she shrieked. "Is that actually…"

"The signature of Shakespeare himself? Yes it is. The story goes that he had them all printed immediately after he finished it and then just gave them away after he was told the play would never do well. Of course, it did and whoever told him that is probably _still_ turning in his grave every time it's performed somewhere."

"Who did you have to kill to get it?"

"No one, surprisingly. One of my ancestors just so happened to be one of the ones that got a copy of it when it was printed. I snatched it up when I was disowned by my parents but never had the heart to trade or sell it."

Rachel closed the book and looked up curiously at the blonde captain. "Who _are_ you, Quinn?" Rachel shook her head. "You storm a ship and fully intend to kill everyone on it until you find out there are two women aboard so you decide to take us hostage and just take the cargo and let whoever survived that little fight go on. I've heard the stories of what you've done to ships after you've gotten what you want from them and it's absolutely horrifying. Then you recite Shakespeare to me, show me a very rare artifact, casually mention that you were disowned from your family…I can't figure you out."

Quinn only smiled. "You don't seem to mind being taken hostage."

"Well, honestly, I'm certain that Brittany probably would have asked to come along with you."

"She would have asked to come with us?" Quinn snorted. "Is she…"

Rachel cut in before Quinn could finish her thought. "She's very peculiar, I haven't figured her out and I've known her for years now. All I know is that she and her parents migrated to the colonies when she was seven and she left when she was eighteen to go back to Europe to pursue a career in ballet."

"So why would she…"

Rachel cut Quinn off again and the blonde growled. "One thing about Brittany is that while she may not be intellectually gifted, she is very determined. I saw the way she was eyeing your first mate, and the way your first mate was eyeing her. Brittany will do whatever it takes to get what she wants and Santana was something she wanted. Whether you had decided to take us or leave us, we probably would've ended up here. And she and Santana would've ended up in bed together."

Quinn raised her eyebrows. "Are you done now? Can I get in a full sentence?"

Rachel pursed her lips and nodded.

"Since Brittany has decided that Santana is hers we should probably find you somewhere else to sleep unless you want to learn a few select Spanish phrases. I think there's a spare hammock…"

Rachel's eyes widened. "I am _not_ sleeping in a hammock!" she shrieked. "In a room full of those filthy _men_? As I told you last night, Europe may be more liberal than the colonies but I am _not_ sharing a space with them. It's simply a revolting thought and I refuse."

Quinn laughed. "It's either that or in my bed. With me."

Rachel narrowed her eyes and looked up at Quinn curiously.

"How many people have you killed?" Rachel asked.

"That's an odd question for someone who is looking at sleeping in a hammock in a room full of 'filthy men' for the next month."

"It's something I'd like to know before I decide to share a bed with you."

"Do you demand to know this of all those with whom you have shared a bed?"

Rachel scoffed. "I'll have you know that Brittany is the only one I have shared a bed with and it was in a strictly platonic manner."

Quinn smirked. "You mean to tell me you spent years in Europe as an actress and never…"

"Never," Rachel cut her off. "While I may be a bit of a free-spirit and rather independent I am not a whore. That was the one request of the man I was betrothed to before…" Rachel stopped.

"Before?"

"You have yet to answer my question, Quinn."

"I can't give you an answer. At least not an exact one. It's hard to tell how many men a ship has on it when you fire from a distance or if there are any hiding when you set it on fire after you've raided it." Quinn smirked a little.

"Do you feel no remorse for what you do? Those men have families and there could've been women and children aboard!"

"Those men sold their souls to work for a man without one!" Quinn growled. "He's completely heartless and if I can cause him devastation it doesn't matter the cost!" She set her jaw and crossed her arms across her chest.

Rachel gasped and looked up at the captain, eyes wide. "This is about revenge, then? Who are you trying to destroy, Quinn?"

"Get out of my cabin." Quinn pulled the leather book from Rachel's hands and pushed it back on her shelf. She gripped onto the edge of her desk, feeling slightly queasy.

"Quinn…"

"Get out! Put on some decent clothing and go to the kitchen to earn your keep! And I swear that if you try to poison any one of us I will personally be the one to make sure you get punished _severely_ for it."

Rachel only nodded. "Yes, Captain."

Quinn growled and continued staring down at her desk until her door slammed shut. She waited patiently for Kurt to come in to give her the morning report. When he did he was bright eyed and happy and Quinn knew that Santana had probably told Puck off.

* * *

Have no idea what Quinn and Rachel were saying because Shakespeare confuses the hell out of you? Google "Romeo & Juliet translation" and a link to "No Fear Shakespeare" will come up. Click that. You can find the lines I used in this chapter in the 'Prologue' section.


	4. Chapter 4

**-Chapter 4-**

Because Quinn ducked into her quarters every time she heard Rachel's voice near the hatch door it was three days before the pair spoke again. In that time Quinn noticed a change in the food she was eating, it wasn't Puck's food but it was still very good. It was interesting and exotic, the kind of food she thought maybe she might taste if she were traveling about Europe (instead of just "visiting" the ports) like her father had promised her she would one day.

Quinn was in her cabin after lunch reading over her other copy of _Romeo and Juliet_, the one she wasn't afraid of accidentally destroying, when there was a knock on her door. She called out for the knocker to enter, assuming it was Kurt to take her lunch tray. She didn't look up when the door squeaked open but the bustle of skirts tore her away from Romeo's monologue in the Capulet's orchard.

Rachel stood silently before her, her full skirts still moving a little. The deep jade dress fit her _very_ well, Quinn noticed. It was tight around the brunette's not-too-small waist and blossomed out from her hips. The neckline was square and deep, Rachel's cleavage was accented with a gold chain. There had to be a corset involved somewhere, the blonde was sure. Rachel smiled at the captain, her deep brown eyes lit up when Quinn felt her cheeks tinge pink.

"_She speaks and yet says nothing: what of that?_" the words echoed through Quinn's head while she looked up and down Rachel's figure. The rest of Romeo's monologue played through her head while she took in the sight before her. She saw Rachel's eyes flicker down to the book.

"Ay me!" Rachel said with a grin.

"She speaks," Quinn said softly without looking down at the book. She closed it and dropped it to the table. "What do you want, Rachel?"

"I believe you need to go back and re-read that scene, Captain. From what I recall, the next line is 'O, speak again, bright angel. For thou art…'"

"As glorious to this night, being o'er my head," Quinn continued. She stood and narrowed her eyes. "As is a winged messenger of heaven…" she took a few steps toward Rachel. "Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes, of mortals that fall back to gaze on him, when he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds, and sails upon the bosom of the air."

Rachel's mouth opened and closed a few times. "I came to retrieve your lunch tray," she finally managed to whisper.

"No you didn't." Quinn turned away and went to her desk. "Hummel retrieves my lunch tray."

She shuffled through her papers, attempting to look busy and to try and rid herself of the redness she knew was covering her cheeks.

"I'm afraid your messenger boy is a little bit busy at the moment. I went to find him and not only did I do just that but I found him in the cook's quarters in a rather compromising position…with the cook."

"Figures. Get used to it. With Santana bedding your friend, Puck will go to Kurt which means I'll finally have a happy messenger boy."

Rachel nodded and stepped forward towards the table. She looked at the glass container containing the small orange octopus and various plant life. Quinn glanced over her shoulder at the brunette.

"Her name is Juliet," Quinn said.

Rachel looked at the octopus curiously. "Where did you get her?"

"She came up with the net while we were fishing. It was about a year ago, right before we headed to Europe. I'd just…acquired…the container from a ship that was sailing out from New York City down to the Caribbean and it seemed perfect. She won't get any bigger than that, I don't think. She hasn't in a year so she'll probably stay that way."

Rachel straightened up and shook her head, curly chocolate locks bouncing with each move. "Is there anything that you haven't 'acquired' in this cabin?"

"The other captain left me the table and the desk and a few of the books," Quinn said with shrug. "Other than that…"

Rachel sighed. "What could've been so horrible that you had to turn to this?"

Quinn opened her mouth to speak but the words caught in her throat and she stopped herself. She walked back to the table and pushed the tray at Rachel. "Take the tray, get out."

"Why do you do this? You're a pleasurable person until I bring up something from your past and then you become incredibly guarded and…"

"Rachel, shut your mouth."

Rachel's mouth snapped shut and Quinn almost broke when she saw the brunette's mouth turn down into a frown. Rachel picked up the tray and headed to the door.

"Next time you see Hummel tell him I want his ass in here unless he wants his soap taken away."

Rachel nodded and left Quinn's cabin. Quinn paced the floor until her door squeaked open again, Kurt stepped inside.

"You wanted to see me?"

"It would be distasteful of me kill Rachel, wouldn't it?" Quinn crossed her arms over her chest and continued pacing.

Kurt made his way to the table in the middle of Quinn's room and pulled a few shrimp from his bag. "She is rather irritating. Like an itch I can't scratch." He moved the lid from the octopus' container and dropped the shrimp in and watched Juliet closely. "However, she is a good cook. The things that woman can do with rice, it's just wonderful. And have you _heard_ her sing? When she talks I want to shove her head underwater but when she sings it's just amazing."

Quinn sighed. "She infuriates me."

"You're just frustrated because you haven't had Santana in a few days."

"Santana's been busy."

Kurt rolled his eyes and kept watching Juliet devour the shrimp. "Trust me, I know. I hear her and that Dutch girl going at it all night long. It's odd how Santana doesn't speak Dutch and yet she knows exactly what Brittany is saying and the same with Brittany and Santana speaking Spanish."

Quinn growled. "Where's Rachel sleeping?"

Kurt stood up from leaning next to the tank and groaned. "Puck has given up his bed for her."

"Tell him if he even thinks about touching her I will personally tie the cannon to him myself before dropping him to meet Davy Jones."

Kurt grinned and nodded. "Is there anything else you need?"

Quinn stopped pacing and looked at the messenger boy. "How much do you know about me, Hummel?"

"Uh…" Kurt blinked a few times.

"I've known you for five years and I haven't told you a lick about myself so why is it that I know that chocolate-haired wench for less than a week and I almost spill everything to her. Why?" Quinn dropped down into the lounge chair that rested in the corner of her cabin opposite the bed.

"To shut her up?"

"You're useless. Go find Santana and tell her I want to see her. And the blonde."

Kurt turned a little green and looked like he might vomit.

"I just want to talk to them, get those thoughts out of your head before you faint."

"Yes, Captain."

Kurt left and Quinn got up and knelt down to watch her octopus. She waited and finally heard giggles coming from the other side of her door and called out for Santana and Brittany to come in before they even knocked. Santana pulled the blonde in by the hand and Quinn took a quick glance at the woman she hadn't seen since the night she took her hostage. Santana had obviously let her borrow some of her clothes since they were dressed almost exactly alike. White shirt, black pants, black shoes. The only difference was that Brittany had a red sash tied around her waist.

"Kurt said you wanted to see us, Quinn?"

Quinn nodded.

"Why did you make Rachel mad like that?" Brittany cut in. "That wasn't nice and you should apologize."

Quinn blinked a few times. "You do realize I'm the captain of this ship and I can do what I want?"

Brittany scoffed. "Doesn't matter. You should be nice to Rachel. She just wants you to like her."

"Santana…"

"Hey, I'm not going to disagree with her," Santana said with a smile. She wrapped an arm around Brittany's waist and pulled her in close. "Look, I know you're cutthroat and try to be cold-hearted and dominant, Quinn. And I'm good with that because I'm the same way and that made for some really good times in bed together. However, we've all got our weak spots that make us a little less cold-hearted. Mine is apparently blonde, blue-eyed Dutch girls. And it seems as though yours is brunette, brown-eyed actresses."

"I do _not_ have a weak spot. Especially not one for Rachel Berry."

"You never recited Shakespeare to me, Quinn."

"So in addition to asking too many questions, the irritating woman also can't keep her mouth shut?"

"Hey!" Brittany growled. "You need to stop being so mean! Rachel is a great person."

"Is she serious?" Quinn asked Santana. "I can still throw her…"

"You won't," Santana said. "I can best you in swordplay any day so I would like to see you try to lay a hand on her."

Quinn growled and crossed her arms back over her chest. "Even if I did have even a smattering of positive feeling towards Rachel…she thinks I'm disgusting."

"Yeah, she does," Brittany said. "But she knows you have a heart somewhere and she wants to find it."

"Does she not understand that I'll never have a normal life? If she's looking for someone to come with her to the city and settle down it won't happen. It can't. I'm one of the most wanted people in the world, the minute I set foot on land I'll be arrested and hanged. Unless she's willing to stay on this ship for the rest of her life…" Quinn was cut off by Santana and Brittany whispering and giggling. "What?!"

"For someone that doesn't have any feelings for her you sure have thought about the future a lot," Santana said. "The future with her in it, that is."

Quinn growled. "Get back to your posts, you're giving me a headache."

Santana and Brittany both nodded and left the cabin. Quinn paced the floor a few more times before following and going up to talk to the navigator.

* * *

Again with the Shakespeare, google "Romeo & Juliet translation" click on the "No Fear Shakespeare" page. The section is Act 2, Scene 2.


	5. Chapter 5

Just a fair warning, you might not like Quinn very much for a little bit.

**

* * *

-Chapter 5-**

Again, because of Quinn perfecting her hiding skills, four more days went by without her having to see Rachel. She thought maybe she could go the entire rest of the trip without having to see her but one afternoon she was wandering around on deck and yelling at her various crew members for being slackers because a knot wasn't tied just right or a railing wasn't completely spotless and the captain missed the sound of Rachel's voice calling down from near the top of the steps that she was going to be up on deck. When Quinn glanced over to the hatch and saw the brunette's head poking out she froze in place, not sure whether to run for her cabin or jump off the ship. Rachel approached her cautiously, again in her jade dress only sans the bustling underskirts Quinn noticed.

"Captain," Rachel greeted Quinn with a nod and a curtsey.

"Why aren't you in the kitchen?" Quinn snapped.

"I'm taking a break. It's after lunch and there are a few hours before Noah and I start on dinner."

Rachel started walking toward the starboard railing and Quinn followed.

"_Noah_?"

"The cook."

"I know who you were talking about, Ra--Berry. No one calls him Noah." Quinn leaned back against the railing and Rachel leaned forward over it.

"I do."

"Don't. He doesn't deserve it."

Rachel smirked. "Because you lowered your guard for one night of…"

Quinn reached out and grabbed the sleeve of the brunette's dress and yanked her around to stand face to face with her. "What did he tell you?" she demanded, keeping a firm grip on Rachel's shoulder.

"Enough for me to know why you're like…"

Quinn reached up and cut Rachel off with a sharp smack across the face before the brunette could continue. "Don't you ever…" Quinn growled. "That wasn't the question I asked you. What did Puck tell you?"

Rachel turned her head back to Quinn and her eyes were wide and filled with tears. She raised her hand up to touch the redness that was now plaguing her cheek.

The brunette shook when she finally found her voice enough to speak. "I…he…he told me wh-what he did to y-you…and that your father disowned you for it and th-the courtship t-to Finn Hudson was broken."

Quinn growled and raised her hand again but when Rachel flinched she dropped it. She released the brunette's shoulder and Rachel took a step back. Quinn stood staring at Rachel for a few seconds, the shorter woman's chest was heaving and she was still trembling. Quinn opened and closed her mouth a few times, an apology on the tip of her tongue, but instead she turned on her heel and marched back to her cabin. When she reached for the door a tan hand caught her wrist and Rachel was at her side.

"What do I have to do to get rid of you?" Quinn hissed. "Do you really want me to throw you off the ship? Proper etiquette requires me to find an island and leave you there with a pistol but I'm not sure I like you enough to do even that."

"You and I have more in common than just a love for Shakespeare," Rachel said quietly.

"I don't care to know why," Quinn scowled. She pulled away from Rachel's grip and entered her cabin, Rachel followed a few steps behind. "Get out of here!"

"No!"

Quinn turned around and Rachel squared her shoulders and held her head high. The captain narrowed her eyes and looked down at the brunette.

"You have the answers to your questions. You wanted to know who I am and why I am the way I am and Puck has filled in the blanks for you so just get _out_ and go back to the kitchen."

"I was engaged," Rachel said. "I was engaged to a man who loved me with everything he had and I couldn't love him and that's why I went to Europe. I apologized to him profusely because I knew he'd been hurt before, badly. I just couldn't love him and so I left."

"Does it look like I care?"

"You should."

"Why?"

"It was Finn Hudson."

Quinn pursed her lips at this information. "Why would I care? It was after I left."

"Because you and I both know what it's like to hurt a man who doesn't deserve it and neither of us ever wants to have it happen to us. You've hurt someone and been hurt and you don't want it to happen again and that's why you're in love with being on a ship in the middle of the ocean all the time and why I love acting and singing. Those things can't hurt us. You and I are a lot alike, Quinn. If you would open up a little bit you might see that!"

Quinn shook her head and widened her eyes. "You're mad. You're just completely mad!"

"I am not. I'm right and you know it. You don't let yourself get attached to people because you're afraid they'll hurt you, just like your parents did and just like you hurt Finn. Underneath the captain you do have a conscience and you do care, Quinn. I can see it. You don't want to destroy your father, you don't want revenge. You're devastated by his resentment and because you _do_ care you'll do anything to try and get his attention. A small part of you thinks that maybe he'll forgive you and maybe he will if you just stop this foolish behavior and try to talk to him."

Quinn stared at the brunette blankly and attempted to process what she'd just said and fight off the parts of her mind that were screaming that Rachel was actually right. The brunette was surprisingly quiet for a few minutes and Quinn felt like her head was on fire from all of the thoughts that were simultaneously flooding it.

Finally, after the fire died down, Quinn regained enough brain capacity to scoff. "You're wrong," she said, shaking her head. "I hate my father. I hate him and the only thing I want to do is make him suffer. He's a heartless man, he doesn't care about me and if I were to ever go back into his life he would send me off to the gallows. He wouldn't forgive me even on his deathbed."

"Don't say that, Quinn," Rachel said softly. "You don't hate him. Try to contact him in a way that doesn't involve setting something on fire. I believe it would do the both of you a world of good."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Why would I do that? I just told you he doesn't care about me and he'd send me to my death."

"Because your father is dying, Quinn!" Rachel shrieked. "If he's not already gone then he's close to it! I overheard Captain Schuester talk about it while I was working on the _Glee_. Don't you understand?! You need to stop trying to destroy him because there's no point in it!"

Another silence. Quinn's mind went completely blank.

"He's…dying?" she finally managed to get out.

"Last Captain Schuester heard, yes, that was the case. Of course, that was months ago. Schuester and the other ships' captains had been wondering who was going to take over the trade company since everyone that works for him knows the story that Sir Fabray's daughter was not only not married but disowned and he had no other living descendants. Again, just things I overheard. I put it all together when Noah told me about your affair with him."

Quinn swallowed hard and crossed and uncrossed her arms a few times all the while fixating her eyes on one of her top bookshelves to avoid Rachel's gaze. She could feel the dark brown eyes looking upon her with sympathy, despite what Quinn had done only minutes before.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"You wouldn't let me."

Quinn watched out of the corner of her eye as Rachel took a few steps toward her.

"Can you…can you please go?" Quinn whispered.

Rachel nodded. Before she left she put her hand on Quinn's shoulder and reached up to press a soft kiss to her cheek. Rachel slowly walked back to the door and Quinn's hazel eyes locked with dark brown when the brunette glanced back over her shoulder.

"If there's anything you need," Rachel said before opening the door, "you know where to find me."

As soon as Rachel was out of the cabin Quinn started pacing. She ended at her desk and looked at her maps, mumbling coordinates to herself. The charts showed they were on course to where they had intended, a small port off the coast of the Carolina Province. She charted and looked through her weather logs before scribbling down a pair of coordinates (and quite possibly her own death warrant, she briefly thought) and going up to the navigator.

"Re-direct us to these coordinates," Quinn said, thrusting the paper at Artie.

The man looked at the paper and furrowed his brow. "Captain, I don't think that's a good idea. The further south we go the stronger the wind is in our favor. Shifting course north will put us another month and a half at sea!"

Quinn rolled her eyes and pulled her pistol out of its holster and aimed it at the man's head. "Who is the captain here? You think I don't know the weather patterns, Artie? Get us there."

The navigator shakily pulled a compass from his pocket and nodded. "Aye, Captain. City of New York. Can I ask why?"

"I have a few people I need to visit."


	6. Chapter 6

So. More pirate sex. 'Cause Quinn needs some lovin'.

**

* * *

-Chapter 6-**

Quinn stopped sleeping after Rachel told her about her father. Usually when the captain couldn't sleep she would call Santana to her and even if they didn't exhaust each other on every possible surface in Quinn's cabin the blonde still slept better with Santana beside her. She wished she could call her back now but she had seen the new glow in the Latina's eyes and Quinn didn't want to tear her away from anything that made her happy. She'd experienced that feeling too many times and didn't wish it on anyone, especially the woman that had been by her side since she was sixteen.

Rachel stuck to below decks, Quinn hardly saw her for fourteen days. Not that she was counting or ticking them off on her calendar. The few times that Rachel did emerge from below deck when Quinn was outside, Quinn would run back into her cabin even though she knew Rachel could see her. On a daily basis Santana would back the captain into a corner and tell her to remove her head from her ass and go talk to the other brunette because Rachel was just as much of a wreck without Quinn as Quinn was without her. Quinn would, as per normal, tell Santana she had no idea what she was talking about.

The words "just admit that you want her, Quinn!" kept echoing through Quinn's head just as Santana had yelled them that day. As a result she was tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep yet again. She was almost ready to give up when there was a clatter outside her door and she was out of bed and to the door in a split second, managing to grab her sword from its holster on her way. She opened the door quickly and stood in her defensive position and looked out onto the deck. There was nothing but darkness. She heard a gasp from below her eye line and jumped back and looked down, startled.

"Quinn…Quinn I'm sorry!"

"Rachel?"

"I'm so sorry…I was just…I…"

Quinn stepped back into her cabin and turned up the lantern that was resting on the table before slipping her sword back into its place. A soft glow filled the room and she picked the lantern up and walked back to the door. Rachel was knelt down and attempting to clean up the wax that was splattered on the deck.

"S-some of the wax dripped on my hand," Rachel said. "I dropped the candle. I'm sorry if I woke you."

Quinn knelt down and took Rachel's arm and tugged her up. "Someone will take care of it in the morning, come inside."

Rachel nodded and pulled her blanket tight around her shoulders and followed Quinn into the cabin. The captain shut and locked the door before setting the lantern down on the table. She took a deep breath then Quinn turned and walked back to Rachel who was standing nervously with her left hand cradled in her right.

"It's starting to blister," Quinn said, looking down at the burns. She reached out and took Rachel's hand, there were small pink spots all over the back of it. "Does it hurt?" Quinn ran her fingers over the spots and Rachel winced a little.

"It's fine," Rachel said with a weak smile.

Quinn furrowed her eyebrows and let go of Rachel's hand and went to the trunk at the end of her bed. She rummaged around until she found an old shirt and tore a strip out of it then returned to the brunette and took the small hand into her own again.

"I don't really know…" Quinn started wrapping the fabric around Rachel's hand. "I don't know what doctors use on burns. Just…keep it clean, I guess."

Rachel nodded and Quinn tied off the makeshift bandage. Dark brown eyes met hazel and Quinn dropped Rachel's hand again and backed away. She set her jaw and pursed her lips, her steely façade returning.

"You want to explain to me why you were standing outside of my cabin door in the middle of the night?"

Rachel sighed. "I couldn't sleep. Noah's bed isn't exactly comfortable."

"So you wanted to come to my bed?"

"I…It's just that I haven't seen you…it's rather odd how two people can manage to not see each other on a ship for days or weeks at a time when there's not many places to hide."

"Why would you want to see me?" Quinn crossed her arms over her chest.

Rachel shrugged. "I thought at first I would wait for you to come to me but when it was apparent that you weren't going to do that I decided that perhaps it was time I pay you a visit. You intrigue me. You're a very fascinating person, Quinn. You have an interesting history which has led to several…"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "You talk too much, Rachel."

"Quinn, please. I…I'd really like to talk with you instead of at you. Why can't you give me that? Why can't you just sit down and talk with me? I don't understand. We have a lot in common, Quinn, and if you would just open up to me a little bit more or maybe not try to interrupt when I talk to you then you could see that not only are we alike on an emotional level but a little in our backgrounds as well. I'd really like to…"

All the while Rachel was talking Quinn's eyes were wandering up and down Rachel's body. It reminded her of the night when she first laid eyes on the small figure since Rachel was in what appeared to be the same nightdress and wrapped in the same blanket as she had been. Quinn shifted her weight, trying to ignore the pooling desire low in her torso, her body betraying her mind and saying that it really wanted Rachel. Quinn blinked a few times when she realized Rachel was _still_ talking and she quickly moved across the floor and stood close enough to Rachel to where if either one of them shifted forward even just a little they would be pressed flat up against each other.

"Rachel," Quinn growled. "You really need to stop talking."

Rachel blinked a few times and opened her mouth. Quinn raised her hand and Rachel's mouth snapped shut and she closed her eyes tight, bracing for impact. The captain sighed and gently brought her hand down to Rachel's neck and traced the soft skin with her fingers. Cursing her body and that small piece of her mind that sounded remarkably like Santana shouting "just admit that you want her!" (she was momentarily ignoring her heart racing and screaming the same thing) Quinn took advantage of the brunette's silence and closed mouth by pressing her lips to Rachel's and to Quinn's surprise she wasn't shoved away. And Rachel kissed her back. When Quinn's tongue darted out and swept across Rachel's bottom lip the brunette pulled away from Quinn and backed into the door, eyes wide.

"Quinn, while that was rather nice I found it slightly out of place for the current situation and I think we need to…"

"Will you shut up?!" Quinn screeched.

"I really think we need to talk about this!"

"You are the single most infuriating, annoying, irritating person I know!" Quinn growled. "You never shut up, you refuse to back off, you stick your nose where it doesn't belong and you're just a pain in my ass!"

"Me!?" Rachel shrieked. "What about _you_?! You're hot and cold, I can't figure you out! I'm usually very perceptive but you're just completely off your rocker! You're mad!"

Quinn let out a loud, frustrated growl and started pacing. "If you would just stick to the kitchen where you belong I wouldn't have to deal with your incessant, pointless chattering!"

"Don't give me that! I'm earning my keep! I can go wherever I choose…"

"Here we go again! You _never_ shut up! Every single response has to be a damn monologue!"

"What are you going to do about it, hm?"

Quinn growled again and crossed the floor and grabbed onto the back of Rachel's neck. Hazel eyes that were now dark with lust, want, and anger met deep brown that had darkened just the same. This time it was the brunette that closed the gap between the two and their lips crashed together and tongues collided in a second searing kiss. Quinn pulled the blanket away from Rachel and tossed it aside. Rachel pulled back and her hands came up to cup Quinn's jaw and she traced her thumb over the blonde's lips. She moved her hands down Quinn's neck and to the captain's shoulders. Quinn swallowed hard and Rachel took a few deep breaths before nodding a little and closing the gap again.

Quinn kept one hand on the back of Rachel's neck and let her other roam up the brunette's front. She groped Rachel through the thin nightgown, taking a handful of her soft flesh. Rachel gasped and growled and gripped onto the material covering Quinn's shoulders. Quinn felt pressure on her shoulders and heard the fabric rip before it dropped to the ground and the cold air in her cabin surrounded her. She pulled away from Rachel and looked down at the smirking brunette whose expression dared Quinn to do something about it. Quinn grabbed onto Rachel's nightdress and ripped open the front and let it drop off the tanned woman's shoulders before attacking her lips again. She took the bottom of the brunette's pouty lips into her mouth and bit down.

Rachel tried to push Quinn toward the bed but the captain kept her pinned to the door. She slid one of her legs between Rachel's and pushed. Rachel gasped and tried to move forward again but Quinn pushed her back.

"No," Quinn growled.

Quinn lowered her mouth onto Rachel's neck and slid her hand between the brunette's legs. Quinn smirked at the wetness she found.

"Quinn…" Rachel wrapped her arms around Quinn's bare shoulders and held on tight.

Quinn rolled Rachel's clit between two fingers and Rachel went weak at the knees and moaned again. She circled the bud and Rachel squirmed against her, her body begging for more. Quinn moved her fingers lower and pushed two inside of the squirming woman. Rachel let out a cry and bit down on Quinn's shoulder and Quinn stilled her movements to let Rachel adjust.

"Please…" Rachel begged breathlessly.

Quinn resumed kissing and nipping at the brunette's neck and started slowly working her fingers in and out of her. Rachel was moaning and crying out incoherent words with each thrust and Quinn started moving a little faster. Rachel lifted her leg between Quinn's and Quinn gasped at the contact. She bucked her hips against the flesh with each of her thrusts.

"Quinn…oh…God…don't…don't stop…"

Quinn only grunted and thrust harder. Rachel unwrapped one arm from Quinn's shoulders and slid it down the captain's stomach. She pulled her thigh away and slipped two fingers inside the blonde and Quinn froze her actions when Rachel started thrusting to match her rhythm. She regained conscious thought when Rachel bucked her hips and Quinn started thrusting again. Her thumb found Rachel's clit and pressed against it. The brunette threw her head back and shrieked. Quinn felt the familiar tightening around her fingers and in her lower stomach. Rachel bucked her hips and went rigid. Quinn thrust a few more times and Rachel's legs went weak and she held on to Quinn's shoulder to keep herself upright. Quinn pulled her fingers out and braced one arm against the door and the other around Rachel's waist. The blonde bucked her hips a few more times and Rachel used every ounce of strength she had left to bring Quinn to the edge. Quinn let out a loud moan before coming undone around Rachel's fingers and collapsing against the small brunette, pinning her against the door with her weight.

When Quinn finally gained enough strength to walk she had to all but carry Rachel to the bed. Rachel dropped down and slipped between the sheets, Quinn followed. The blonde lay on her back, Rachel curled into her side and draped an arm over Quinn's stomach.

"Rachel…"

"Hm?"

Quinn grinned. For once she wasn't met with a lengthy answer and so she decided to just enjoy the silence.

"Nothing. Go to sleep."

"Okay." Rachel sighed and snuggled in close to Quinn and was soon breathing heavy.


	7. Chapter 7

**-Chapter 7-**

Quinn shifted in her bed when she heard the loud knocking from the other side of her door at what she assumed was some ungodly early hour because she could barely muster up enough energy to open her eyes and move to get out of bed. A small body squirmed next to her and gripped tight around her waist and Quinn stopped moving to listen to the voices on the other side of the door.

"Captain! Captain, is everything okay?" Quinn heard Kurt shout. "Oh my God, what if they killed each other?"

"You idiot!" Santana hissed. "They're not dead, okay? They're probably just tired."

"How would _you_ know?"

"Because I saw Rachel come up here in the middle of the night last night and when she didn't come back I came up to find out where she was. Trust me, the noises coming from that cabin weren't even close to death. Now, get your ass up to the navigator and get the coordinates while I wake them up."

Quinn groaned. She pulled away from the brunette and crossed the floor to her cabin door. She kicked the two ripped and discarded nightdresses out of the way and picked up the blanket Rachel had been wrapped in. She wrapped it around her chest and unlocked the door. When she poked her head out she groaned at the pain in her head from the bright light.

Santana smirked. "Have fun last night?"

Quinn grumbled.

"If you want me to I'll take over for the day and you and Rachel can…"

"Shut up, Santana. Just let me get dressed and deal with this."

"Aye, captain," the Latina said with a smile. "Take your time."

Quinn shut the door and locked it again. She turned back to look at the bed, Rachel was sprawled out with the sheet barely covering anything. Quinn licked her lips at the sight but shook the thoughts out of her head. She had a ship to captain and couldn't afford any distractions the closer they got to the colonies. She crossed the floor again and dropped to the bed. She gripped onto Rachel's shoulder and shook the brunette a few times.

"Get up, Rachel."

Rachel grunted and rolled over. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Quinn.

"Good morning," Quinn said.

"Quinn?" Rachel sat bolt upright and covered herself with the blankets. "Quinn, what happened? Why am I here?"

"Seriously? You can remember the whole of _Romeo and Juliet_ but you can't remember what happened last night? For starters, take a look at the fact that neither of us are clothed right now, that should tip you off."

Rachel curled her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead on them. "So it wasn't a dream?"

"No."

Rachel shook her head. "I can't believe I did that. I…I just gave myself to a woman who is apparently completely incapable of loving another human."

"I'm still sitting here, Rachel. I can hear you."

Quinn was only met with silence and she sighed and slid off the bed to put on her clothes. Just as she strapped her pistol on Rachel looked up at her, eyes wide and tears falling.

"I don't regret it," Rachel whispered. "I should, I know I should. I should feel guilty…but I don't. I mean, maybe a little at the way it happened, I would've preferred something slower…and on a more comfortable location. My back kind of hurts."

"You know we don't have to do it just the one time, right?"

Rachel blinked. "You want to do it again?"

"Not right now, I've got things to do." Quinn walked to her desk and started shuffling through her papers.

"Well yes but I thought maybe since you'd gotten what you wanted from me that you'd just banish me to the kitchen for the remainder of the journey."

The tip of Quinn's quill snapped when she inadvertently jerked at Rachel's statement.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say to me?"

"You got what you wanted, didn't you? You were…satisfied and I stopped prying. What else could you want from me?"

Quinn blinked a few times and looked over at Rachel who was now sitting on the edge of the bed with a sheet wrapped around her. Quinn took the few steps toward the brunette and knelt down in front of Rachel and looked up into dark brown eyes. Rachel smiled.

"Unless maybe it meant something more?" Rachel whispered and slipped her fingers through Quinn's hair.

Quinn felt vulnerability slipping over her and she panicked. Vulnerability is what got her into bed with Puck. It was what got people hurt and killed and she wasn't about to go through either of those. Her mind raced as Rachel looked down at her and fingers ran through her hair. Rachel would make her vulnerable and Quinn was determined to never let her guard down again. The captain quickly stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest, almost as if to protect her heart. She glared down at Rachel.

"What it meant," Quinn hissed, "was that I wanted to shut you up! And you're right, I got what I wanted from you so get back to the kitchen and do what I assigned you to do!"

Rachel's shoulders slumped and she looked at the floor. "Can you have Brittany bring me something to wear?" she mumbled quietly.

"Fine." Quinn stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door behind her. She searched below decks and found Brittany in the kitchen with Puck and told her to take Rachel some decent clothes. Brittany quirked an eyebrow and nodded and Quinn turned and left before the other blonde could question her.

Quinn saw Brittany emerge from her cabin an hour later with a look on her face that told Quinn she should probably jump overboard right that minute and get as far away from the ship as possible. Brittany stormed up the stairs to the quarter deck and the first thing she did was slap the captain across the face.

"You are a horrible person!" the Dutch girl yelled.

Santana looked up from the main deck and quickly made her way to Brittany's side.

"What happened?"

Brittany growled. "She hurt Rachel! She hit her last week! Then last night she got her into bed and said horrible, horrible things to her this morning!"

Santana's mouth gaped open and she grabbed onto Quinn's arm and dragged the stunned blonde away from the irate Dutch girl. "Quinn," Santana growled. "Quinn is she telling the truth?"

"Santana, I can explain…"

"Quinn! What is wrong with you?"

"What? You and I have collectively killed who knows how many people by setting ships on fire or in fights and you're going to get onto me for giving that loud mouth what she needed when she decided to invade my privacy? And as for last night, it was either that or call you up."

Santana gripped harder onto Quinn's arm. "You cannot do this to her, Quinn! You have got to stop denying you feel something for this girl. It's going to destroy both of you."

"I feel nothing but annoyance toward her."

"Really? She just annoys you? That's it? Puck annoys you but I don't see you caring enough about what he says to hit him. I wouldn't have a problem if you did hit him but I swear to God, Quinn, I swear that if I find out you ever laid a hand on Rachel like that again _I_ will be the one tying _you_ to a cannon and dropping you overboard, got it?"

"Why are you protecting her?" Quinn jerked her arm out of Santana's grip and looked down at her.

"Because I'm not going to let you throw her away like she's just a toy. I'm not letting you ruin this. You're my best friend, Quinn, and I can't stand to watch you do this to that girl and to yourself."

"Stop talking." Quinn looked away from the Latina and backed away a few steps.

"Listen to me, Quinn. Being like that with her is only going damage her and get you even more on Brittany's bad side and I know you're good with sword and everything but I'm pretty sure she could kick your ass. You might not have messed things up beyond the point of fixing them if you go to her right now."

Quinn scoffed. "And if I don't want to mend things with her?"

"Then you really are more heartless than I thought you were."

Santana turned on her heel and marched back to Brittany. The blonde tried to lunge forward to get to Quinn but the Latina held her back and pulled her down the stairs. Quinn watched from the railing as Brittany and Santana escorted Rachel out of the captain's quarters and down below decks.

It was apparent at the next meal that Puck had taken back over the kitchen.

For the next few days every time Quinn would see Brittany on deck the Dutch girl would storm up to her and smack her or, if Santana was there to hold her back, she would just glare at the captain and shout random angry-sounding Dutch phrases that Quinn decided she didn't want to know the literal translation of. Anytime she was slapped or yelled at Quinn just turned the other cheek and went about her business. She wouldn't retaliate because she knew if she did she would have to face Santana and although she'd never admit it, she was petrified of what the Latina could do to her.

...............

Quinn's calendar indicated it had been a month to the day that they had captured the _Glee_. The ship was moving slower than expected because of the shifting winds and by Quinn's calculations they had at least another five weeks before they reached New York City. It was late at night, she again wasn't sleeping well, and she was at her desk charting possible locations for their next stop after she went through with her plans in the city, assuming she survived. She was thinking seriously about attempting to hit the Pacific ports, possibly in China or some other far off country that would get her far away from anything that made her feel vulnerable or bring up unpleasant memories.

She chewed on the end of her quill until her concentration was broken by a shuffling at her cabin door. She glanced over to see that an envelope had been slid under it. She quickly jumped out of her seat and snatched it up. Her name was on the front in thin, perfect script. She tore the envelope open to reveal a short note in the same writing.

_I wish I could've figured you out. I suppose, like so many other things, that the true you will remain a mystery to the world for eternity. I have no doubt that you're a good person in your heart, Quinn, no matter how icy cold it may be._

Quinn flipped the parchment over, the back was blank. There was no signature, just what she'd read. She opened her door and walked out on deck in an attempt to catch the writer. She squinted through the darkness and by the soft glow of the lanterns on deck she saw a small figure fussing with her skirts at the port side of the ship. She watched Rachel grab onto one of the ropes and hoist herself up on the railing then look down at the water below. Quinn didn't even think before she started running.

"Rachel, no!"


	8. Chapter 8

**-Chapter 8-**

_"Rachel, no!"_

Rachel turned around to look at Quinn and the blonde took a flying leap. Just as Rachel let go of the rope and began to fall forward Quinn wrapped an arm around the brunette's waist and planted one foot perfectly on the railing and she pushed hard sending both women flying backward to the deck. They landed with a crash, Rachel on top of Quinn on their backs. Rachel rolled over and buried her face into Quinn's chest and the blonde kept her arm around Rachel's waist and ran the other one up and down her back.

"Rachel...no." Quinn gasped.

The brunette only clung to Quinn's shoulders.

"What the hell is going on?!" Quinn heard Santana yell when she emerged from the hatch, sword drawn and Brittany at her side. A few other crew members joined her, all staring down at Rachel and Quinn. Brittany crossed the deck first and pulled Rachel up and into her, holding her tight.

"What did you do to her this time?" Brittany scowled.

Quinn hopped up and crossed her arms over her chest. "All of you back to what you were doing!" she yelled. The crew, save for Santana, Brittany, and Rachel all filed back down below deck.

"Brittany, it's fine," Rachel sniffled.

"No it isn't," Santana said, thrusting a piece of parchment out. "What is this?"

"Can I please be alone with Quinn?" Rachel asked, pulling away from Brittany. "Please?"

Santana nodded and held out her sword. "Take this. If she tries anything you have my permission to use it."

"She won't."

Santana and Brittany both sighed and stood their ground while Rachel and Quinn adjourned to Quinn's cabin, Quinn following Rachel.

Quinn turned up her lantern and Rachel sat down on the bed. The captain remained standing.

"Why did you do that, Rachel?"

"Why not?" Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "I have nothing more to live for. You won't let me in, the only thing I have waiting for me in the Colonies is settling for a life I never wanted. A husband if that's even possible by now, if any man will want me. My friends were all married and had children by the time I left, you know? Before they were even twenty."

Quinn crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at Rachel. The brunette's shoulders were slumped and she was staring down at her hands, picking at her fingernails.

"Why are you going back there to begin with if you know what's waiting?"

"I'm going back because the European stage is getting too crowded and it was becoming difficult to get parts but if the Colonial stage is just the same then I'll be resigned to the life of a meaningless housewife and I can't do that."

Quinn shifted her weight from one foot to the other and back again. It scared her a little bit that what Rachel had just said had echoed through her own mind several times in her life when she'd wondered what it would have been like to marry Finn Hudson. She thought briefly that she could offer the brunette a permanent job in the kitchen but her thoughts were snapped back to the present problem of trying to figure out why Rachel just attempted to jump off her ship when the aforementioned brunette whimpered.

"You have no family that could take you in?"

Rachel let out a quiet sob and buried her face in her hands. "I'm an orphan."

Quinn shifted uncomfortably again as her mind echoed those words. She had parents…but they had disowned her. Thrown her from their lives. She was an orphan, too. Rachel wasn't lying when she'd said they had more in common than a love for Shakespeare.

"I…I don't really know the whole story," Rachel continued, "but I was raised in the theater. There were two actors there, John and Daniel, they were the ones who took care of me. I never knew my mother…John and Daniel were good to me but I knew I was just a burden and so the engagement to Finn was good for them but I knew, I just _knew_ that my life couldn't be that. So I gave him the ring and took all the money I had saved and got on a ship and went to England."

The brunette wrung her hands in her lap. She sniffled and let out a few more quiet sobs over the minutes that lapsed where Quinn was still shifting her feet and contemplating the fact that maybe, just maybe, the pair _were_ more alike than they were different.

Quinn, mind and heart both racing, crossed the floor slowly. She couldn't see behind the curtain of dark brown locks around Rachel's face. She didn't even know if the brunette knew she was still in the room. Quinn dropped to her knees in front of Rachel and reached forward. She pushed the thick locks out of the way and Rachel looked down at her, completely defeated.

"I have nothing, Quinn," Rachel sobbed. "Then you opened up to me just a little and I was naïve enough to grab on to that little bit of you. And all you did was hurt me."

"I'm sorry," Quinn whispered. She reached up and cupped Rachel's jaw in her hands.

Quinn studied Rachel's eyes, looking for something. She didn't know what it was but she was looking for it and she so desperately wanted to find it. Rachel just looked back, her stare lacking any emotion but helplessness.

"Rachel…Rachel I don't know what to do. I can't give you what you want."

"You don't know what I want."

"You don't want a bloodthirsty pirate. I've killed innocent people, Rachel. You don't want that."

"You're right, I don't. I want a woman who will recite Shakespeare to me, who will care for me if I'm wounded…who will save me when I'm on the edge." Rachel reached out and touched her fingers to Quinn's cheek. "I want Quinn Fabray, not Captain Fabray. That's all I've wanted since the day you recited _Romeo and Juliet_'s prologue to me."

"One comes with the other," Quinn said. She pulled her hands away from Rachel's face and dropped her head. "I have to captain my crew."

"Then captain them out there." Rachel put her fingertips underneath the blonde's chin and tilted her head back up. "But leave the captain on the decks."

Quinn pulled back a little. "I can't…I've never felt this…this _thing_ before. I hate it, Rachel. I hate it. I hate it because I know when we get to New York City there's a good chance that we'll be torn apart and the last you'll see of me is swinging in the gallows. I hate it because I don't want to get hurt…and I don't want you to get hurt, either."

"I know you're afraid of getting hurt, Quinn. You think I don't have the same fear? It's too late to be afraid, though. I've already let myself fall for you. I gave myself to you. It doesn't matter if or how we part. Quinn, you are all I have…this sliver of yourself that you let slip. That's all I have to live for. Whether you tell me no right now or swing in the gallows…this piece of you is all I have to live for. Despite the way you've treated me, I do love you and I know that you at least care about me enough to risk your life to save mine. Stop fighting what you know you feel."

Quinn threaded her fingers through Rachel's hair and Rachel slipped her hands around the back of Quinn's neck. The blonde wasn't sure who pulled but they ended up resting their foreheads together and just staying there. Quinn felt the vulnerability slip over her again only this time she didn't fight it. She let it consume her and she started shaking. Every word Rachel ever said to her was the honest truth and all of them rushed through her brain and she admitted to herself (possibly even out loud, she didn't know) that Rachel was right…and that she loved her.

"I'm going to kiss you now," Rachel whispered. Quinn nodded.

Their noses bumped and Rachel smiled a little before their lips connected. Despite their previous encounter, the kiss was slow and exploratory. Rachel's tongue explored Quinn's mouth and Quinn pulled back for a breath before slipping her tongue into Rachel's mouth. She took her time, tasting, feeling, letting it all sink in. Rachel pulled back this time and traced her thumb over Quinn's lips.

"Dost thou love me?" Rachel recited quietly. "I know thou wilt say 'ay,' and I will take thy word. Yet if thou swear'st thou mayst prove false. At lovers' perjuries, they say, Jove laughs. O gentle Quinn, if thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully. Or if thou think'st I am too quickly won, I'll frown and be perverse and say thee nay, so thou wilt woo. But else, not for the world. In truth, fair Fabray, I am too fond, and therefore thou mayst think my 'havior light. But trust me, lady, I'll prove more true than those that have more coying to be strange."

Quinn got up from her knees and guided Rachel back to lie on the bed. She hovered over the brunette and pressed another kiss to Rachel's lips.

"Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear, that tips with silver all these sails…" Quinn smiled and kissed Rachel again.

"Quinn, please promise me something."

"Anything."

"Don't shut me out again."

Quinn shifted and settled next to the brunette and Rachel turned to face her. Quinn wrapped her arm around Rachel's waist and pulled her in close. Rachel settled her hand on Quinn's neck.

"I'll try."

* * *

Shakespeare translation can be found on page 84 of the SparkNotes "No Fear Shakespeare" section =)


	9. Chapter 9

**-Chapter 9-**

Puck and especially Kurt were delighted when Rachel moved out of the cook's quarters and into Quinn's cabin. The captain and the actress still quarreled a few times, like when Quinn wouldn't tell Rachel her exact plans for when they got to the city or when Rachel refused to let the captain touch her underneath her nightdress even though Quinn reminded her over and over that it wouldn't be the first time. Rachel wanted to wait until "the courtship is more established". Brittany kept a close watch on Rachel for any negative changes that she thought might be Quinn's fault. She still glared at the captain every time she saw her.

Quinn showed Rachel how to tie knots and raise the sails. She held her hands as the brunette fumbled with the ropes and calmed her down when Rachel got frustrated with her bowline knot not being perfect. Quinn only chuckled and showed her again and again. She'd watch from the quarterdeck as Santana gave Rachel and Brittany lessons in swordplay (Quinn claimed she was busy but she knew in the back of her mind that Santana definitely was better and would therefore be a better teacher). Rachel was surprisingly good at it and Quinn challenged her to a duel a few times. She went easy on the brunette and even let her win the second one because Rachel pouted for hours on end after losing the first. Rachel told her she knew that Quinn let her win but she would still tell everyone that she bested the captain.

Quinn explained her charts and maps to Rachel and how she knew where they were going. On clear nights they would stand and the bow of the ship, Quinn's arms wrapped around Rachel's body and the captain would point out different star constellations and how to tell which direction they were going. When they both spotted a shooting star they did the customary and made a wish. Quinn wished that she not die before she had more time with Rachel. When she asked Rachel what she wished for the brunette turned around and captured Quinn's lips in a searing kiss.

"This," Rachel whispered. "You and me."

"That's all?"

"It's all I need out here. When we get closer to the colonies I might wish for an acting job." Rachel smiled and Quinn shook her head and kissed her again. "What did you wish for?"

"Time," Quinn said. "More time for us to be together."

"The winds could shift," Rachel offered hopefully.

"They could…but I want more time after the city. I don't…I don't want to die."

Rachel sighed and rested her head on Quinn's shoulder and swayed. "Don't talk like that, Quinn. Everything will be fine. If you'd tell me exactly why you're going to the city then maybe I could help you. I want to help you."

Quinn smiled a little. "I love you, Rachel. But this is something I'll need to do alone. I don't want you to worry about anything."

Rachel nodded and kissed Quinn's neck. She hummed to give the pair something to sway to, Quinn recognized it as a ballad that Rachel had lulled her to sleep with a few nights ago.

The pair spent hours at night curled up in bed reading through Quinn's books and Rachel would sing to her some of her favorite love songs until Quinn fell asleep. Santana took to being the one to wake the pair in the morning because Kurt adamantly refused to go into the captain's quarters while both women were in there.

Quinn kept her promise and let Rachel in. She told Rachel her story about exactly how she ended up on the Cheerio and working her way through the ranks. She quietly recounted the first time she got into a fight that ended fatally and how Captain Sylvester was hell bent on destroying everyone and leaving no survivors. She told how when she took over she would leave some survivors because her subconscious told her that if the survivors knew who she was that word would spread to her parents that she was alive.

"You're too calm about me having killed people," Quinn said one night after they'd finished _Hamlet_.

Rachel sighed. "I can't say it doesn't bother me. But seeing as how you seem to have given up the urge to do that I'm attempting to look past it."

"I won't do it if I'm unprovoked, that's all I can promise. If my life or your life or the lives of my crew are at stake I'll do what I have to."

"No more setting fire to ships," Rachel said with a yawn. "Or executions. That's all I ask."

"Ask and ye shall receive," Quinn said with a smile. Rachel snuggled in close to her and Quinn turned down the bedside lantern.

Aside from the small quarrels and Kurt rolling his eyes every time Quinn and Rachel were in the vicinity of each other, things were blissful. However, Quinn knew she was bound to mess things up on a large scale eventually. Luckily, Rachel was aware that Quinn probably would, too. That didn't stop her from being furious when it happened though. Quinn spent the night playing cards with Puck and a few other crew members below decks and of course, rum was consumed. Copious amounts of rum. Very rare rum that they had picked up in a port in France. It was much different than the rum they picked up in the Caribbean, definitely stronger. When Quinn staggered up the stairs and through hatch to the deck she was feeling very, very good and very, very ready to break Rachel's rule of no touching underneath the nightdresses.

The captain stumbled into her cabin and Rachel was sitting up in their bed reading by the light of the lantern on the beside table. Quinn slammed the door shut and Rachel looked up with her eyebrows arched. She shook her head and went back to reading. Quinn made her way across the floor and dropped down onto the bed and giggled. She reached underneath the blanket and put her hand on Rachel's thigh.

"You know what _-hic-_ I think, Rachel?"

"Hm?"

"I think _-hic-_ that you are _so_ pretty."

"Thank you."

Quinn moved her hand down and underneath the hem of Rachel's nightdress. She ran her hand up her leg and Rachel shifted away from the captain when Quinn hit her knee.

"At least take off your hat before you go to sleep, will you?" Rachel said, not looking up from her book.

Quinn scowled and put her hand back on Rachel's leg. "No. I like _-hic-_ my hat!"

"Quinn, please."

Quinn fumbled with her hat and threw it on the ground. She followed it with her boots and shirt and Rachel glanced over at the topless captain and shook her head. Quinn grabbed onto one of Rachel's hands and pulled it to her chest. Rachel jerked away.

"What are you doing, Quinn?" Rachel growled.

"I'm _-hic-_ tryin' to get your attention. I _-hic-_ want you to touch me."

Rachel closed her book and glared at Quinn. "First of all, you're drunk. I refuse to entertain the idea of being intimate with you while you're intoxicated. I told you at the beginning of the night that I would appreciate it if you didn't drink. Now, if you had listened to me then I might be inclined to let things progress further tonight. However, since you chose to drink like it was your last night on Earth there is no way you're touching me tonight. Nor will I touch you. Now put your nightdress on and leave me be."

Quinn growled. "Y'know _-hic-_ for someone who doesn't want to be a housewife you're doing _-hic-_ a damn good job of it! Scolding me! I'm _-hic-_ the captain! I'll do what I want!" Quinn reached again and firmly gripped onto Rachel's thigh over her nightdress. Rachel smacked her.

"Do not touch me, Quinn Fabray!" Rachel threw back the blankets and got out of the bed. She stomped to the screen in the corner and pulled Quinn's nightdress off of it. She tossed it at the captain and scowled. "Put that on right now."

"No! I'm the _-hic-_ captain!"

"Not in here you're not!"

Quinn rolled off the bed and staggered over to Rachel. The brunette crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at Quinn, eyebrows raised and lips pursed. The captain swiftly dropped down and pressed her lips against Rachel's, Rachel pushed her away.

"Damn you!" Quinn yelled. "Why won't you let me touch you?! Stop pretending _-hic-_ it didn't happen!"

"I know it happened! But when it happens again I refuse to have it be while you're drunk."

"I'm gonna _-hic-_ die when we get to the city! It'd be nice to have some memories of you _-hic-_ as something other than a stuck-up bitch!"

Rachel smacked Quinn again. The blonde stumbled and caught her balance on the table.

"Would you _-hic-_ stop doing that?! How come you can do it to me but I get jumped when _-hic-_ I even think about it?!"

"Because you did it out of anger. I did it out of you needing to stop your unacceptable behavior."

"I knew it was a mistake to bring you here!" Quinn growled. "I should have left you on that ship! I should have…I should have just did what I was going to do and just…done it!"

Rachel blinked a few times. "Done what? Had me shot? Left me on board the ship and set fire to it?"

"All of it!" Quinn slurred. She stumbled over to the bed and grabbed her previously discarded nightdress and pulled it over her head. "You drive me mad! I'm a _-hic-_ bloody pirate! I should've left you!" She walked back to Rachel and hovered over her. "But no. That dim-witted friend of yours _-hic-_ and Santana…"

Quinn growled and leaned down to try and kiss Rachel again but the brunette ducked out of the way. Quinn couldn't catch her balance and went crashing into the table. The table overturned, the glass tank shattered on the floor and Quinn landed face first into the shards of glass. Rachel shrieked and knelt down next to the unconscious blonde and turned her over, there was blood everywhere.

"Quinn…Quinn wake up, please," Rachel pleaded. Quinn didn't move.


	10. Chapter 10

Fluffy pirate sex!

* * *

**-Chapter 10-**

Rachel stayed by Quinn's side for the three days she was mostly unconscious. Rachel had immediately found Puck after the captain remained unresponsive following her fall and he got her into her bed. Kurt found an empty glass container and filled it with saltwater just in time for Juliet, who they found suctioned to one of the top corners of Quinn's cabin. Kurt nursed the octopus while Brittany helped Rachel tend to the captain, keeping the cuts on her face and neck clean and applying pressure when the particularly deep gash on her forehead would open up.

Quinn's eyes fluttered open to the sound of yelling outside her cabin door. She groaned at the light and the soreness on her forehead and listened to the arguing voices.

"But why is the rum gone?" Puck yelled.

"Because that vile drink is what caused all of this!" Quinn heard Rachel shriek. "It turns all of you into complete heathens and I won't have any more of it! Once I am off of this ship you can do what you please but until then I have decided that this is what is best. If you want it so badly then jump out after the barrels but don't expect for a boat to be sent after you!"

Quinn sat up a little when Rachel entered back into the cabin. The brunette shut the door quietly and gasped when she turned around to see Quinn sitting up, awake.

"Quinn…you're awake." Rachel crossed the floor and stood at the edge of the bed with her arms crossed over her chest. "How are you feeling?"

"I…don't know. Why is the rum gone?"

"Because I ordered it thrown overboard."

Quinn blinked. "You did…what?"

"I ordered every single barrel of rum thrown overboard. I'll tell you what I told Noah, if you want it so much then feel free to jump overboard to get it. I won't stop you."

"I did something wrong, didn't I?" Quinn muttered. She looked down at her lap and picked at her fingernails.

Rachel snorted. "If you call attempting to force me into bed and telling me that you wish you'd shot or left me on board the _Glee_ while you set it on fire then yes, you did something wrong."

"I was…"

"Drunk. Very drunk. And extremely unpleasant."

Quinn rolled her eyes. It hurt a little and she winced but she kept her jaw clenched shut. "Why do you want me to change? If I want to drink I'm going to drink. Allow me to spend my last days the way I want, will you?"

"You're not going to die, Quinn."

"Since when is the punishment for murder and piracy anything less than going to the gallows?"

"We'll discuss that later. You need to eat something. You've been unconscious for three days, you've managed to swallow some broth every now and then but you need to eat now. I'm going to go tell Noah to prepare you some rice." Rachel stood and moved to the door.

Quinn threw the blankets back and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. "What I need is to get up and go captain my ship."

Rachel groaned. "No, stay in bed."

"Don't tell me what to do! I'm the captain, I'll do as I please!" Quinn stood up a little too quickly and stumbled from the light-headedness. She took a few steps before the before the dizziness became too much and she went weak at the knees. Rachel was at her side holding her up and pulling her back to the bed before she hit the floor. Quinn felt an odd sensation on her head and reached up to touch the bandage that was wrapped around it. When she pulled her fingers away they were tinged with red.

"Look what you've done," Rachel sighed. She sat Quinn down on the bed and went to the desk to retrieve clean bandages. She unwrapped the existing ones and pressed a cloth to the gash. "You need to stay in bed until that is healed. It's very deep and you lost a lot of blood from it. Santana has done just fine captaining and will continue to do so."

"Housewife," Quinn muttered.

Rachel shrugged. "You said the same thing when you were drunk. I thought about it and perhaps maybe you're right, I could be a housewife. Maybe my fear wasn't becoming one, it was becoming one with someone I didn't care about."

"Why do you care about me? I've been awful to you."

"I'm fairly certain that throwing the rum overboard will remedy that. You were actually quite pleasant in the time between beginning the courtship and your drunken rampage."

Rachel re-wrapped Quinn's head and guided her back to lie down again. The captain sighed and reached out to grab Rachel's wrist when she started to walk away.

"I'm sorry, Rachel. It won't happen again, I promise."

Rachel nodded. "I know. I'll be back with your meal."

...............

Rachel allowed Quinn to leave the cabin a week after she woke up and the gash on her forehead was mostly healed and not sporadically opening up anymore. The other cuts had been minor and healed just fine but the one on her forehead was going to leave a scar. When she was finally able to take back over the captain was happy to find that her ship hadn't completely fallen apart and that Santana had actually done well. Artie had kept her charts up to date and Quinn sighed when she calculated that there were only about ten days left before they were expected to see the city. She briefly thought about changing her plans but with not much time before landfall there wasn't much of an option now. And she ultimately decided that she would go mad if she didn't do what she intended.

A week before they were scheduled to arrive at port, Quinn was standing up at the bow of her ship looking off into the darkness. The sun had long since fallen below the never ending horizon and the air was cold but Quinn just stared out into the blackness. There was a sudden warmth behind her as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and a small body pressed itself against her back.

"It's cold," Rachel whispered. "You should come to bed."

"The stars are beautiful tonight," Quinn sighed. She turned around and wrapped her arms around Rachel underneath her arms. "They shine like your eyes," Quinn whispered when she leaned down to press a kiss to Rachel's shoulder.

"Are you attempting to woo me, Captain?" Rachel said with a smile.

Quinn shrugged. "Honestly? I just want to be with you. Why you would want the same, I have no idea."

"Because I love you, Quinn."

"Why, though, Rachel? I don't understand it and you won't give me a good answer. I've said and done some pretty horrible things to you."

"Listen, I know it's unconventional and me coming back to you could be seen as slightly mad but I know _you_. I know Quinn Fabray and I know that she's much more than the captain of a ship. She's a lover, a romantic. She knows _Romeo and Juliet_ by heart and she needs to be loved. And I love her. And throwing the rum overboard will remedy any future problems, I believe."

Quinn gently brushed her lips against Rachel's. "I love you, too," the blonde whispered with a small smile.

"Bed?"

Quinn nodded and allowed Rachel to take her hand and lead her down to the main deck and into her cabin. Once inside, Rachel shut the door and locked it then went to the table in the middle of the room and turned the lantern down low before stepping back to Quinn and grabbing onto her hat and tossing it aside. The brunette's hands wandered lower and found the belt buckle holding up Quinn's sword. She looked up into the captain's eyes as she slowly unbuckled the two belts wrapped around Quinn's waist.

Rachel slid her hands up under Quinn's shirt and pulled it over her head. She pressed feather-light kisses all over the blonde's chest and ran her hands up Quinn's sides. Quinn gently gripped onto Rachel's shoulder and turned her around. She began slowly undoing the tie on the back of Rachel's dress and once it was loose enough she slipped it off the brunette's shoulders. The top of the dress bunched up around the tan woman's waist and Rachel shivered when the cold air hit her bare torso. Quinn leaned down and pressed kisses across Rachel's shoulders and let her hands roam around to the brunette's bare stomach and up over her breasts. She pulled the brunette into her and held her there, savoring the warm skin of Rachel's back pressed up against her front.

Rachel pulled out of Quinn's embrace to step toward the bed, Quinn followed close behind and Rachel hesitated a moment before she discarded her shoes and pushed the dress off her hips and let it pool on the floor. Quinn mirrored her movements by slipping her boots off and finally her pants. Rachel crawled into bed, Quinn followed and settled herself on top of the brunette. She pushed Rachel's legs apart and settled her hips between them, Rachel gasped. Quinn wrapped her arms around Rachel's back and the brunette arched into the blonde's body.

"Are you sure about this?" Quinn asked. She nuzzled her nose into Rachel's neck and nipped at the skin.

"It's already happened once, Quinn."

Quinn pulled away and looked down at Rachel. Through the faint light she saw her smirk and Quinn growled before pressing her lips hard against Rachel's and pushing her tongue into her lover's mouth. She was met eagerly with Rachel's tongue dancing with her own and Rachel's hands on her back and Quinn rolled her hips a few times eliciting moans from Rachel's mouth into hers. Quinn pulled her arm out from under Rachel's body and rested it on her hip then broke the kiss to trail her tongue down Rachel's neck.

"You're so beautiful," Quinn mumbled against Rachel's collarbone.

She kissed down further and stopped to take one of Rachel's nipples into her mouth and graze her teeth over it. Rachel hissed at the pleasurable pain and ran her fingers through Quinn's hair as the blonde repeated the process with the other nipple. Quinn kissed her way back up at the same time as she slid her hand between Rachel's legs and started running her fingers through Rachel's folds.

She didn't let her fingers go right for their immediate goal but instead explored the territory, sliding them up and down. She ran over Rachel's clit a few times and each time the brunette would gasp and groan. Quinn focused on it for a few seconds, rolling it between her fingers and rubbing circles around and over it, before Rachel begged her to go further. Quinn nodded and kissed at Rachel's neck again and moved her fingers lower. She pressed two of them at the woman's entrance and Rachel squirmed. Quinn simultaneously sank her teeth into Rachel's neck and pushed in slowly and Rachel let out a relieved hiss and stilled her hips. Quinn curled her fingers just right to run over _that spot_ deep inside her and Rachel stopped breathing and arched again.

Quinn pulled out and pushed in slow again eliciting another moan from Rachel's lips. She set a slow and steady pace, Rachel lifted her hips off the bed and Quinn moved a little faster. Her lips found Rachel's again. Rachel's fingernails dug into Quinn's back and the blonde moved even faster.

Rachel broke out of the kiss and threw her head back when Quinn again dragged her fingertips against her walls.

"I love you, I love you, I love you!" Rachel called out. "Oh _God_, Quinn!"

Quinn dropped her head back to Rachel's neck and kissed and bit more at the tan flesh. She thrust harder and Rachel's moans became incoherent as she got closer to the edge. Quinn stretched her thumb up and ran it over the bud again and Rachel shrieked. Her back arched off the bed and her heels dug into the mattress as she came undone around Quinn's fingers. Quinn kept thrusting through Rachel's walls contracting and the brunette finally let out a loud cry and collapsed against the bed, completely spent. Quinn moved next to her lover and kept her eyes on Rachel as she ran her fingertips over her heaving chest.

Rachel finally regained her composure enough to roll over facing Quinn and she smiled and tucked the blonde's hair back.

"Hi," Rachel said with a smile that Quinn could see even through the darkness.

"Hey." Quinn settled her hand on Rachel's hip and scooted closer to her. She drew circles with her thumb on Rachel's soft skin.

"That was amazing."

Quinn blushed and was glad for the darkness to hide her cheeks. "I love you."

Rachel closed the gap between the pair and pushed Quinn onto her back and climbed on top of her. Quinn moaned when Rachel's teeth grazed her neck and Rachel's hands explored her body, running up her sides and her arms and finally settling one hand on her ribcage and the other over her breast. Rachel cupped and kneaded the soft flesh and ran her thumb over Quinn's nipple. The brunette rolled the now hard bud between her fingers and Quinn arched into her touch. Rachel shifted her weight and did the same with her other hand before trailing her hand lower over Quinn's stomach. Rachel pulled her lips away from the blonde's neck and kissed her chin and locked eyes with the captain. She clutched her lower lip between her teeth nervously, Quinn wrapped her arms around the smaller girl and spread her legs.

Fingers trailed through her wetness and Quinn kept her eyes locked with Rachel's, dark brown and looking at her very intensely. Quinn squirmed and moaned a little when Rachel's fingers trailed up and ran over her sensitive clit. Rachel rolled it between her fingers and Quinn lost focus for a moment and her breath caught in her throat. Rachel slipped her hand lower and without warning she pushed three of her small fingers inside of the captain. Quinn cried out and Rachel thrust again and again, setting quick and fast pace. Quinn tightened her grip around Rachel and dug her fingernails into the brunette's hips.

"Rachel…God, oh God! I love you please don't stop!"

Rachel cut off any further noise from Quinn and pressed her lips to Quinn's. She shoved her tongue into Quinn's mouth and there was too much and just enough all at once and Rachel moaned when Quinn moaned and the blonde bucked to meet each and every thrust. Quinn felt Rachel shift again and her other hand made its way between her legs and when Rachel pressed two fingers against her clit the blonde yelled and froze and she swore she saw stars as she toppled over the edge, Rachel continuing the thrusts until Quinn started shaking and let go of Rachel's hips because every muscle in her body was burning. Rachel moved over to settle herself halfway on top of Quinn and nuzzled her nose into the blonde's neck.

"You're sure," Quinn gasped, "you're sure this was only the second time you've done that?"

Rachel giggled. "I had a little bit of advice."

Quinn made a mental note to thank Santana profusely.

"I liked that," Rachel whispered against Quinn's neck.

"Again?" Quinn turned her head and grinned. Rachel nodded enthusiastically and lunged in for a kiss.


	11. Chapter 11

**-Chapter 11-**

When Quinn went up to the quarter deck to talk to Artie the next morning Santana was already there and she nudged the captain and Quinn just grinned.

"What?" the blonde asked.

"You know what. How'd it go?"

"Let me just say thanks for giving her advice."

"I happen to know if you're happy then we're all happy. Don't mess this up again, okay?"

Quinn glanced down to the main deck where Rachel had just exited the cabin and was headed towards the hatch. The brunette looked up at the captain and smiled, Quinn smiled back.

"I won't," the captain assured her first mate.

Rachel finally perfected her bowline knot and put it to good use. Quinn almost regretted teaching it to her. Almost.

The late evening that Quinn saw land on the horizon her heart sank. Rachel joined her at the bow of the ship a few minutes after she spotted land and the brunette gazed out and wrapped an arm around Quinn's back. The blonde pulled away and headed down the steps to the main deck, Rachel followed.

"Quinn?" Rachel asked and furrowed her eyebrows when Quinn stepped into her cabin.

"That's New York City you saw," Quinn said, pacing the floor.

"I know what I saw, Quinn. The one thing I don't know is exactly why we're here."

Quinn crossed her arms over her chest. "My parents. I'm going to see my parents. My father."

Rachel nodded and reached out to grip onto Quinn's arm and stop her pacing. "I thought that might be it. I didn't want to bring it up."

Quinn rolled her eyes and smiled a little. "You? Not want to talk about something? I'm shocked, Rachel."

"Well believe it or not I am perfectly capable of verbal restraint." Rachel smoothed out Quinn's black vest she'd chosen for the day and brushed the loose strands of hair out of the captain's face that had escaped the bun she'd put it up in.

There was a knock at the door interrupting Quinn from whatever retort she had and Brittany and Santana were standing in the doorway when Rachel opened the heavy door.

"They saw land," Santana said. "Wasn't sure if you had heard it or not."

"Rachel can you give us a minute?" Quinn pressed a soft kiss to the brunette's cheek and she squeezed out the door, Brittany and Santana stepped in and shut it behind them.

"What are you going to do?" Brittany asked as soon as the door was shut.

"I'm going to see my parents," Quinn said. "Whether or not I make it out of the city alive is an entirely different story."

"I get the ship, right?" Santana said with a grin. "Come on, Quinn, you've evaded the navy for years. You'll be fine."

"No I won't, Santana! My father isn't above giving up his daughter to the military and I know he'll do exactly that."

"Then why are you doing this? We can pillage a few places at port and turn around and leave."

"No killing anyone," Brittany said. "It makes me sad."

"Not unless we have to," Santana said, nodding.

"I'm going in tomorrow morning. I want you to stay on the ship," Quinn said. "If I'm not back by nightfall then…"

"Then we get you out of whatever you managed to get yourself into." Santana shrugged. "Shouldn't be too difficult."

Quinn nodded a little. "Let the rest of the crew know and send Rachel back in."

Santana gave a weak smile before Brittany pulled her out of the cabin. Rachel was standing outside of the door with her lower lip clutched nervously between her teeth and fidgeting with her fingers. She nodded at Brittany and Santana and stepped back inside the cabin. Quinn greeted her with a deep kiss and Rachel fell into it for a few moments before pulling away.

"Quinn, wha-"

"Right now," Quinn breathed, "right now I just need to be with you, okay? Please…I just need to be with you."

"Okay," Rachel nodded. "Okay."

...............

Quinn hardly slept that night even after she and Rachel exhausted each other. She was up early in the morning with a blanket wrapped around her chest looking out of the window and taking in the smell of the salt and the fresh air.

"Quinn?" Rachel groaned from the bed. "Come back to bed, love, it's cold."

Quinn's eyes darted between the brunette in her bed and the open window. If it had been Santana in her bed she would have told the Latina to stop whining and she would have continued looking out but one look into Rachel's eyes and the captain shut her window and crossed the floor. She settled herself back next to the small woman and threw the blanket over them.

"I was thinking," Rachel said. "If you'll have me…I want to stay with you. I want to stay on the ship."

Quinn took a deep breath and tightened her grip on her lover. "I think it would be best if you go ashore with me and bring your things. We'll find you a boarding house and I'll leave you enough money to stay there for a while."

"I told you I want to stay with you."

"I might not come back to the ship."

"So you're coming with me?" Rachel's eyes lit up and Quinn blinked back her tears.

"What I mean, Rachel, is that I might get caught."

Rachel went quiet. "You might not," she finally whispered.

"If I don't then I'll be coming back here to _The Cheerio_ and we'll be leaving for the Pacific as soon as I do. My father isn't above reporting the fact that I'm still alive and in the city, I will have to leave."

"I want to come with you!" Rachel pleaded.

"I'm not going to put your life in danger, Rachel. Listen, I promise you that if I make it out alive I will come find you and we can say our goodbyes but you have got to stay in the city."

Quinn sniffled and pulled Rachel closer to her and held her tight until there was a knock at the door followed by Santana's voice. Quinn helped Rachel lace up her best dress and haul her trunk out of the cabin. Quinn dressed in her regular clothes, opting for her long red vest. She left her sword and pistol hanging on the back of one of the chairs at the center table. When Quinn exited the cabin Rachel was standing on the main deck with her trunk and she was hugging Kurt. Quinn crossed the deck and wrapped an arm around the brunette's waist.

"Plans all set?" Quinn asked Santana.

"All set, we know what to do."

"Kurt, Juliet's all yours if I don't get back."

Kurt scoffed. "She's already mine. I'm the one that takes care of her." He gave a weak smile and Quinn pulled him in for a hug. "And you better come back, there's no way I could live under Santana's rule."

"I'll do my best."

Quinn glanced over just as Mike tossed a rope ladder over the edge of the ship and he and a few other crew members lowered Rachel's things into the small boat that was waiting for them. Quinn turned back to Santana and the Latina unexpectedly flung her arms around Quinn's neck.

"Hey," Quinn whispered. "Don't do this, S. You have to be sharp, my life may be in your hands here."

Santana nodded into Quinn's shoulder. "I do care about you, you know?" she whispered. "You're my best friend, Q. If something happens I swear…just don't let anything happen. What the hell am I saying? _I_ won't let it happen." Santana pulled away and quickly wiped away the tears that had managed to escape. "Don't do anything stupid, Fabray."

Quinn nodded and used her thumb to wipe away a droplet of water that Santana had missed. "I won't. You'll be there to save me if I do though, right?"

"Right," Santana and Brittany echoed.

"I'll see you later then."

Rachel and Brittany hugged one last time and she and Quinn climbed over the edge of the ship to their boat. Mike followed and rowed them to shore. Rachel waved to Brittany who stood on the bow of the ship and watched them until they hit the docks. Quinn helped Mike haul Rachel's trunk out of the small boat and Mike ran to find someone to help them carry the heavy trunk into the city.

Quinn wrapped an arm around Rachel's waist and took her hand. Rachel reached up and put her hand on the back of Quinn's neck and smiled.

"_Fare the well_," Quinn sang softly the Irish ballad that Rachel had sang to her a few nights, "_my own true love. I'm going away, but I'll be back. If I go ten thousand miles…_"

Rachel sighed and sniffled. "_Ten thousand miles, my own true love. Ten thousand miles or more, and the rocks may melt and the seas may burn…_"

"_If I should not return._"

Rachel kissed Quinn's neck and the blonde pulled her closer. Before she could say anything Mike returned with two men and they picked up Rachel's trunk. Quinn instructed Mike to stay around the dock until nightfall and then go back for Brittany and Santana if she had not returned. The captain handed each of the two men Mike had found a couple of coins and asked them to take her and Rachel to a boarding house with vacancy. Rachel took Quinn's hand on the walk from the port into the city as they followed the two men through a few dusty streets and Rachel gasped when they walked passed a nice looking theater.

"This is the theater John and Daniel worked in. I lived above the stage!"

"Small world," Quinn said with a smile. "You think they're still there?"

"I suppose I'll find out soon enough."

The two men dropped Rachel's trunk at the front door of the boarding house next door and scurried away. Quinn pushed open the door with the "rooms available" sign hanging in the window and pulled the trunk inside, Rachel followed. The blonde handed Rachel a small bag and smiled.

"Should be enough for about half a year's rent." Quinn leaned down and brushed her lips against Rachel's cheek. "Remember, I'll come for you if I can."

Rachel nodded. "I'll wait for you." She placed her fingertips underneath Quinn's chin and guided her into a soft kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Quinn turned to leave just as the landlord came down the stairs and greeted Rachel with a smile. Quinn didn't look over her shoulder, she just walked out the door and shut it behind her. She breathed deep the dusty air and started walking.

Quinn made her way through the streets of the city, marveling at the buildings. It had grown exponentially since the last time she'd actually been in it. She'd seen it from port but dared not to wander the streets. Until now. She put on her best "I've never killed anyone" face when she walked saw the military men who were marching through the streets or standing on the corners.

She walked until she reached a semi-familiar neighborhood of houses. Quite a few more had gone up but she recognized the ones that had been there when she was younger. A "Fabray Trading Co." flag hanging out front of one of the houses signaled to her that she was at the correct destination. She paced in front of the house for several minutes before squaring her shoulders and walking up to the door.

"Can I help you, miss?" a young man answered.

Quinn recognized him immediately as the house boy, Matt, who was around her age and newly hired when she'd been disowned. She smiled a little remembering that he had been the one she'd confided in about her affair with Puck when Matt had found her crying in the kitchen the morning after it had happened. He'd offered her a shoulder to cry on and helped her pack the few things she took with her the day her parents found out and disowned her. He told her that he would quit his job for what her parents did to her because he believed they were absolutely in the wrong but Quinn had convinced him to stay.

"I need to see Sir Fabray," the blonde said quietly. She kept her hat tilted down to cover her eyes.

"Sir Fabray doesn't take visitors, miss."

Quinn tilted her head up. "I'm fairly certain he'll take me. It's urgent."

"Quinn?" Matt gasped. Quinn nodded.

Matt opened the door wide and Quinn stepped into the foyer. Nothing had changed. Not the paintings on the walls or the rug leading to the staircase or the sconces on the walls. She peered to her right into the parlor. One thing had changed. The portrait above the mantle that was once her and her parents had been replaced by one of only her parents.

"Quinn it's been…a really long time," Matt said with a smile. "I'm glad to know you're alright."

"It has been. How are you?"

"Good as can be."

"How…how is he?"

Matt sighed. "He's still alive and intolerable as ever. The old bastard refuses to die already. At least he still pays me a decent wage."

Quinn chuckled and heard her mother call from the kitchen asking Matt who was at the door.

"Don't tell her it's me," Quinn said when Matt turned to go to the kitchen.

Quinn looked back down at the floor listened to hushed voices and took a deep breath. She contemplated turning and leaving but was stopped when the door to the kitchen creaked open and the woman she once called her mother was hastily walking toward her.

"Can I help you?" Judy Fabray asked coldly.

Quinn tilted her head up and removed her hat.

"Hello," Quinn said softly.

Quinn locked eyes with her mother as the woman's jaw dropped open.

* * *

You might recognize the song lyrics that Quinn and Rachel were singing. The song is "Ten Thousand Miles (Fare Thee Well)" which is actually an early 18th century ballad first published around 1710 and most famously sung by Mary Chapin Carpenter and used in the movie _Fly Away Home_.


	12. Chapter 12

**-Chapter 12-**

"Quinn?"

Quinn nodded. Her mother's eyes looked her up and down and Quinn saw the hint of disappointment in the woman's eyes at how she was dressed.

"Sorry I'm not wearing something a little more…"

"Womanly? For goodness sake, Quinn, you're twenty-five years old. How do you expect to get a husband when you dress like a…"

"Pirate. Sorry, Mother, but this is what I wear. And I doubt I'll be finding a husband any time soon, or ever. I didn't come here to be scolded by you, anyhow. I came because I heard he's sick and some irrational part of me thinks if maybe he's on his deathbed then he might want to see me."

Judy scowled with her nod. "He is ill. Has been for several months now. The best doctors in the world haven't been able to tell what is wrong with him and their best suggestion was to let nature take its course. As for whether or not he'll see you I wouldn't know, we don't talk about it."

Quinn nodded and tension filled the air. She fidgeted with her hat in her hands and avoided her mother's gaze by looking around her childhood home.

"If you'd like to see him…" Judy trailed off when Quinn nodded again. The older woman headed for the staircase and Quinn followed close behind. She followed to her parents' bedroom and stared at the white wall. Her mother knocked and pushed the door open but signaled for Quinn to stay where she was. The captain took a few steps back and her mother disappeared into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Quinn looked back toward the stairs to see Matt coming up quickly.

"You know he'll call for them to come get you," Matt said in a hushed tone. "He'll send me to get them. I won't do it."

"Matt, you have to. If you don't then he'll see to it that you're hanged. Just do whatever he tells you to do, alright? I'll be fine."

"You can leave right…"

Before Matt had a chance to finish, Judy stepped out of the bedroom and motioned for Quinn to enter. The younger blonde gave Matt a small smile and a nod before cautiously stepping into the room after her mother. Again, just as she had remembered it. The three floor to ceiling windows were on the opposite wall of the door and the bed centered on the wall to her right. Russell Fabray was sitting up in the bed with a lap desk surrounded by papers. Quinn cleared her throat and the man she once called "Father" glanced up at her and snorted.

"I'll just be outside," Judy said before stepping to the door.

"Send in Matt," Russell said. She nodded and left, shutting the door behind her.

Russell went back to the papers in front of him and began scribbling furiously.

"What are you doing here?" he growled.

"I heard you were ill, I wanted to see you."

"You wanted to find out who I was leaving the company to."

"I don't care about your damn trading company."

"Good, because you're not getting it."

"Like I said, I don't really-"

"How many of my ships did you set fire to last month?"

Quinn sighed. "None since July, actually."

The door creaked open and Quinn jumped a little. Matt brushed passed her to the bed and leaned down. Russell whispered something in the young man's ear and handed him a piece of paper and instructed him to leave. Matt's face was somber when he left the room, Quinn raised her eyebrows expectantly, silently telling him to do what he'd been instructed.

"But you killed a few crew on the _Glee_. And took a few with you," Russell continued.

"I didn't personally kill any-"

"You are the _captain_ of your ship, are you not? That doesn't just come with getting a big cut of the earnings. They're your crew, under your command. If one of the crew members on one of my ships were to kill someone that means _I_ have killed someone as has the captain of that ship. Do not try to pass the blame."

"Schuester ordered his crew to fight, what was I supposed to do? I wasn't going to give up and surrender!"

"But you did," Russell chuckled. "You saw those two wenches and had the executions called off. Did you think I wouldn't find out about that? Schuester knows what's good for him and to report everything that happens on his ship. You're soft, you got it from your mother."

Quinn growled. "I am not soft."

Russell snorted and dropped his head back to focusing on his papers until a knock came at the bedroom door and Russell called for the person to come in.

"Sir, they're here," Matt said when he stepped over the threshold.

"Thank you, Matt. Tell them to wait."

When Matt left he put a hand on Quinn's shoulder and whispered to her to be safe. Quinn nodded and shifted her weight from one foot to the other to wait for her father's explanation.

"You may be my flesh and blood, _Captain_, but that doesn't entitle you to run around attempting to destroy my company and take innocent lives, even though it's probably not as many as you claim. You know I kept enough boats aboard my ships for the crew and then some. Mostly all you did was destroy what little cargo you left. Still, dau--offspring or not, you deserve what you're going to get."

"You're sending your own daughter to the gallows?"

"I'm sending a pirate to the gallows," Russell mumbled. "I have no daughter."

"It's a good thing I expected that." Quinn glanced up at the center window on the other side of her father's bed. "Hope you're not fond of that window."

Russell looked up at her and Quinn smiled. She took off running and leading with her shoulder she pushed off from the floor and went through the second story window. Eyes closed and face covered to avoid the glass she landed expertly on the ground and broke out in a sprint. She heard the shouts of her father and looked behind her to see the soldiers in red coats glance in her direction and take off running after her.

Quinn darted through the streets, the military men on her heels shouting for patrons of the streets to stop her. She wove through the alleyways and knocked over whoever she could to lose the soldiers. A few shots whizzed passed her head and the tears streamed down her cheeks as the loud cracks kept coming and she swore she felt the bullets pass her. She saw the boarding house at a distance and ran harder. The captain was losing steam, her legs were burning and she wasn't sure if she could make it. A hole in the middle of the street ensured that she didn't.

Quinn hit the ground and scrambled to get back up but the men that had been on her tail surrounded her quickly. The shouting and the scuffle drew a crowd of people. Quinn was hoisted up and six rifles were aimed right at her head.

"Rachel!" Quinn screamed. "Rachel!"

One of the men produced a pair of shackles and fastened them around her wrists, Quinn kept screaming until she saw Rachel stick her head out of the front door of the boarding house. Quinn screamed louder and Rachel came running toward the group of men. She was shoved aside by one of them when she tried to break through, Quinn struggled against their grip.

"Please! Let her through!" Quinn begged.

Rachel pushed again and made it through the crowd and the soldiers, Quinn reached forward with her shackled hands and cupped Rachel's face.

"Didn't go exactly as planned," the captain said with a soft smile.

Rachel shook her head. "You're not going to go quietly. You can't. You'll find some way out of it, I know you will."

"It's okay." Quinn pulled Rachel in and kissed her forehead. "Don't come, okay? The gallows…don't come."

"Quinn…"

"Don't. Come. Please, Rachel. And promise me that no matter what happens or what you hear happens, do _not_ do anything stupid. Just keep going, okay? Don't ever give up, do that for me, okay?"

Rachel nodded and Quinn closed the gap between them and kissed her. She heard a few clearing of throats and the uncomfortable shifting of the soldiers.

"I love you, Quinn," Rachel murmured against the captain's lips.

Quinn nodded and closed the gap again before one of the soldiers growled.

"Come on you! You've got a dawn date with the gallows." He grabbed Quinn's arms and pulled her away from Rachel leaving the brunette standing in the middle of the street. Quinn looked back over her shoulder at her love. Rachel touched her fingers to her lips and cried.

...............

Quinn almost gagged at the taste of the gruel she was served. She was in her own cell, at least. A very small and very well guarded cell, inside and out. She saw the soldiers outside the small window and of course the inside guards standing around constantly.

"Can I at least get something that doesn't taste like dirt?" she growled.

"Shut your mouth," one of the guards barked. "You don't deserve anything better. If it were up to me you would have been shot right then and there."

Quinn dropped back against the stone wall of her cell and slid down to the floor. The guard turned back around and Quinn dropped her head to her knees and waited. The sun fell and rose, Quinn tried to sleep but the combination of the cold stone floor and lack of Rachel beside her made it difficult to drift into sleep. She knew she should have been tired when her cell was unlocked the next morning but she was prepared for what was going to happen and she felt alert and awake and ready. She was shackled around the wrists and dragged out to the yard where the gallows were standing.

A crowd of people had gathered and Quinn briefly scanned them for any signs of a short brunette. Rachel was nowhere to be seen. Another brunette standing near a tall blonde, both watching Quinn closely, did catch her eye and Quinn nodded discreetly. The guard escorted Quinn up the steps to the platform and the thick noose was slipped around her neck and tightened, Quinn shifted uncomfortably while her list of offending crimes was read.

"Quinn Fabray," a man with a scroll standing off to her right started reading.

"Captain," Quinn mumbled. "_Captain_ Quinn Fabray."

"You are have been charged and convicted of murder, arson, stealing, and piracy the punishment for all combined crimes is death by hanging. Have you any last words?"

Quinn smirked. "This isn't over."

The man reading off the list nodded to the masked executioner by the lever. The masked man nodded and pulled. Quinn felt the hatch underneath her feet give way and a shot rang out in the crowd.


	13. Chapter 13

**-Chapter 13-**

Quinn closed her eyes and prayed to whatever god would listen to her that Santana's shot hit its mark and when she felt her feet hit the ground instead of her neck snap she knew it had. She ducked out from underneath the platform and took off in a sprint following Santana and Brittany both out of the courtyard. Bullets whizzed around their heads and the crowds were yelling but they kept running, Santana leading the way.

"Nice shot, Santana!" Quinn yelled.

"It wasn't me!" Santana called back to her. "It was Brit!"

Quinn's jaw dropped but before she could respond there was a loud crack behind her and her mind went back to focusing on getting away from the soldiers.

The women ran out of the city and lost the soldiers through the forest and finally were running through grasslands until Santana pulled Quinn into an abandoned barn. The trio collapsed against the door, breathing heavily. Quinn swallowed hard and took the offered canteen from Santana and a big drink of water.

"Thanks Brit," Quinn gasped.

"No problem," Brittany responded. "I wish they would have used a thinner rope, at least give me a challenge."

"Apparently," Santana said once she'd regained her breath, "Brittany knows as much about guns as you do about ships. Who knew, huh?"

Quinn nodded and took another drink from the canteen and started tugging at the rope around her neck. Santana reached over and loosened the remainder of the noose and slipped it over Quinn's head and the blonde smiled appreciatively. The Latina crawled over to a pile of their things in the corner and rummaged through a sack. Out of it she pulled a hammer and an iron spike and Quinn placed her wrists on the ground for Santana to try and bust the shackles open. Santana stuck the sharp end of the spike into the keyhole on one shackle and hit it with all her might and the cuff popped open. She repeated the process with the other cuff and Quinn rubbed her wrists once they were free and they settled back against the barn door.

"One of the navy ships approached us last night right after Mike got back," Santana said. "So Brittany and I packed what we could and I gave Artie the command to meet us up in Boston. It'll take a while to get up there but we can make it."

Quinn leaned her head back against the door and took a deep breath. "I want to figure out a way to see Rachel once before-"

"You _can't_ Quinn!" Santana half-yelled. "We didn't just spring you from the gallows so you could walk right back to her and get caught. And if she's caught harboring you then the both of you will swing side by side, is that something you want? Either you're both alive and separate or you're both dead and I know you don't want that for her."

"You're right," the captain sighed. "You're absolutely right. Rachel's…over and done with. It's over. We should just lay low for a day or so here and then head up to Boston. We'll head to the Pacific, around China. It'll be great." Quinn pulled her knees up to her chest and settled her forehead on them. The tears slipped out of her eyes and she let out a quiet sob. She felt Santana get up and move to her other side and Brittany scooted closer to her. Santana settled her chin on Quinn's shoulder and pushed her blonde hair back.

"I'm sorry, Quinn. But it'll keep her alive."

"You have us," Brittany tried to offer. "Well, not like _that_ because that's just for us…but as friends, you know?"

Quinn nodded.

The trio spent the next day huddled around the small fire they'd built in the abandoned barn. Quinn told Brittany and Santana about leaving Rachel at the boarding house and what had happened at her parents' and getting caught. Santana gave her an "I told you not to do anything stupid" look that Quinn ignored. Santana snuck out a few times to get food from a nearby house. She also managed to get blankets and a deck of cards as well as a couple of lanterns to add to the things they'd brought from _The Cheerio_.

"It's not Puck's or Rachel's," Santana said, serving up the rice and pork she'd managed to swipe for lunch. "But it'll do."

Quinn mumbled a thanks and pushed the food around on her plate. The small fire crackled and she sighed.

"Quinn, come on," Santana urged. "You have to eat."

"I don't know if it's worth it."

Brittany sighed. "Sure it is."

"Why?" Quinn tossed her plate on the ground. "For the past nine years it's been about _The Cheerio_ and killing people and hating my father…why…why is it that when I get something that really makes me happy and doesn't hurt anyone that I can't have it? It's not worth it." Quinn stood and walked to one of the barn windows and stared out at the grasslands. "It's like some sick punishment for everything I did."

"You're not being punished," Santana said. She walked over to her captain and wrapped her arm around Quinn's shoulders. "Listen, if it's that important to you then maybe we can figure out a way to see her before we go."

Quinn shook her head. "She'll want to come with us. You said it, Santana and you're right. If she gets caught…I won't do it. It's too big of a risk."

"You're the captain, Captain," Santana sighed. "Whatever you think is best." Santana kissed Quinn's temple and went back to the small fire next to Brittany and Quinn glanced over at them, huddled together for warmth, Brittany's head on Santana's shoulder. She shook her head and stared back out the window.

While Brittany and Santana played cards Quinn mostly looked longingly out of the window toward the city. She couldn't see the buildings through the trees but she wasn't looking for the buildings. She was looking for a short brunette in a jade dress to come running through the trees to save her. Quinn watched until dusk and Santana forced her to eat so she'd have her strength for the journey up to Boston.

...............

The following day they packed what little they had "acquired" and what Brittany and Santana had brought with them when they'd left _The Cheerio_ and headed north.

"We have to go around the city," Santana sighed while they walked through the field. "I should have found a place north so we didn't have to but I didn't think about it, that was the first place I saw."

"It'll be fine, we can go through the city," Quinn said.

"You're joking, right?" Santana stopped and grabbed Quinn's arm, pulling her back. "We can't just walk through the city. Every soldier in New York is looking for you, for _us_. We're not going to find Rachel so why risk it?"

"If we just keep to ourselves it'll be fine. It will save us an extra day, let's just go. I'm the captain, remember?"

Santana growled and reluctantly agreed. Quinn led the way through the forest and smiled a little when she saw the city skyline. The trio ducked behind a building when a group of soldiers marched by and Santana groaned.

"This is a bad idea, Quinn. Seriously, we need to turn around and find some other way."

"Just don't draw any attention to yourself."

Quinn took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the building, Santana and Brittany followed her as she walked through the street, heads down. Quinn had to grip tight on Santana's arm a few times to keep the Latina from going after a few drunks who catcalled at them from saloons. They went from street to street and ducked behind buildings when they saw redcoats marching by. Santana let out a sigh of relief when they saw the edge of a forest signaling that they were almost in the clear. The Latina quickened her pace to keep up with Quinn but crashed into her when the blonde stopped dead in her tracks.

"What the…" Santana looked over Quinn's shoulder. A soldier was staring directly at her and Quinn was staring back.

"Go," Quinn said. Santana and Brittany remained still. "Go! Run!" this time Quinn shouted and the Latina and the blonde obeyed and took off running back in the direction they had come. Quinn swallowed hard and took a few steps back. She recognized the soldier as the guard from her cell, the one that had told her she deserved to be shot.

The soldier studied her for a few seconds before he raised his rifle. Quinn's eyes welled with tears and she looked around at the people that had stopped to watch the scene unfold. She looked back behind her to see Santana and Brittany hiding in an alley between two saloons. Brittany was holding onto Santana's shoulders and the Latina was struggling against the blonde's grip.

"Quinn!" the blonde heard Santana shout. "Quinn just run!"

Quinn turned back to the soldier who was holding his rifle steady, aimed right at her. He cocked the lever back and smirked. There was a loud crack and Quinn felt a momentary burning pain in her shoulder. She looked down at her shirt which was no longer white but quickly turning bright red.

Santana screamed a blood-curdling scream that was probably heard for miles when she heard the shot and saw Quinn fall. She struggled against Brittany's hold around her shoulders and cried.

"No! Let me go! Brittany let me go!" Santana sobbed. "Please! Let me go!"

"Come on, Santana." Brittany pulled her further back into the alley because people were beginning to stare. Santana continued sobbing and screaming. "Quiet…" Brittany's voice cracked. "Please you…you have to be qu-quiet!"

Santana finally quieted down but Brittany still held on to her from behind as the pair watched a few men come and pick up Quinn's lifeless body and carry her away. The Latina retched at the sight.

"We have to go," Brittany whispered. "We have to go."

"No," Santana choked. "No…I-I can't."

"We can't stay here Santana. You're the captain now. We have to go."

Santana wrapped her arms around the tall Dutch girl and buried her face into Brittany's neck. "Okay," she whispered. "But I want to find Rachel."


	14. Chapter 14

**-Chapter 14-**

_One year later…_

Rachel took her final bow on stage and the crowd went wild with applause. She smiled and exited to her dressing room, she was met with a room full of gifts from men who desperately wanted to court her. She declined all of them, of course. Her heart would always belong to Quinn.

No matter how successful Rachel became the void in her heart was never completely filled. When she had first learned that Quinn escaped from the gallows she was ecstatic and she waited that night and the next for the blonde to come find her. She'd first heard the news of Quinn's death through someone that burst into the boarding house yelling about it. Rachel's heart immediately sank and she'd run to the docks but saw no sign of _The Cheerio_. When she returned to the boarding house she was met with Brittany and an inconsolable Santana in her room. They told her the whole story and then went on their way, Rachel hadn't seen or heard from them since.

The gossip all over the city was the same over the next few weeks. The pirate that had evaded the British navy on the seas and the army on land had been shot and killed, her body taken away and buried. Rachel was more than devastated; she didn't leave her room for weeks. When she did finally leave she landed a part in the theater and in the months that followed, her friends and fellow actors had tried to set her up with suitable partners but Rachel refused, stating her heart belonged elsewhere.

Rachel looked around her dressing room at the typical gifts, they were the same every night: dresses, flowers, books, fine jewelry. However, this night, something caught her eye. A plain wrapped package with flowing, familiar handwriting reading "Rachel Berry" on it was placed on a table. Rachel stared down at the writing on the packaging and tried to remember where she'd seen it. When memories of a ship and a desk and charts on that desk flooded her mind she felt her heart stop.

"It can't be," Rachel whispered when she traced her fingertips over the ink. It smudged, the ink was fresh. She carefully tugged the paper off and a leather bound and covered book was revealed. She opened the front cover to see William Shakespeare's signature.

"You know," a voice said from behind her, "I'm thinking that loud mouth of yours is actually kind of a gift because even though I was hiding in the balcony I could still hear you. And you were magnificent tonight, Rachel."

"Quinn," Rachel whispered, still looking down at the book. "This is impossible."

"Not really."

Rachel turned around and Quinn emerged from the shadow of the corner where the candle light didn't reach. "Are you ghost? I…I sometimes can see ghosts…"

"I'm not a ghost, Rachel."

"But how…They said they caught you after you escaped. Everyone in the entire city was talking about it! They said they caught you and you were sh-shot! Brittany and Santana! They were here, they told me! They saw it! They saw you die!"

Quinn pulled down the shoulder of her shirt, there was a perfectly round scar just under the right side of her collarbone. Rachel gasped and Quinn smiled. She dug in her pocket and pulled out a round silvery ball. She tossed it up in the air and caught it with a smirk.

_Quinn didn't remember anything until she woke up on a hard table. There was a searing pain in her shoulder and she immediately vomited. When she felt she could stand she got up and looked at her surroundings. She noticed blacksmith tools and a man passed out on a chair in the corner, a bottle of rum in his hand. Quinn looked down at her shoulder, the blood had stopped flowing out but she knew the bullet was still in there. She rummaged around for something, anything, to try and pull the bullet out and she finally found a small knife resting near some other tools. She stuck it in the fire for a few seconds to clean it, like she'd been taught after a crew member had been shot when Sylvester was still captain. Quinn was at least thankful for that lesson._

_The captain sat down on the ground and clamped her jaw shut when she pushed the end of the knife into the hole just underneath her collarbone. She felt it hit the small bullet and then closed her eyes and pried it out all the while trying not to scream. The ball hit the ground and Quinn vomited again. The blood started oozing out and she pressed her hand against it but it was no use. The blood came faster. She looked around and her eyes landed on the handle of what looked like a knife in the making that was sitting in the hot coals of another fire. The glowing metal on her skin was almost unbearable but she didn't let go until the bleeding stopped. She dropped the knife back into the fire and vomited yet again._

Rachel's mouth gaped open and the color drained from her face.

"It hurt…God, it hurt, Rachel. But I knew if I could survive it then I could see you again. I wrote in his log book that I'd been taken to an unmarked grave and then I left."

Rachel dropped the book back on the table and took a few steps closer to the captain. Quinn smiled and reached toward her but was met with a smack to the face.

"Not sure I deserved that," Quinn mumbled. She rubbed the sting on her cheek.

"How could you do this to me?" Rachel shrieked. "You…how could you? Why didn't you come find me? I would have helped you!"

"You had a future and I wasn't going to subject you to the life of being on the run all the time! If they'd found out I was alive and you were helping me then you would've gotten the same punishment! I was protecting you, Rachel!"

Rachel smacked her again. "Why did you wait a year?"

Quinn rubbed her jaw. "Could you not do that anymore?"

"I think I am entitled to it! I thought you were dead! You should've given me a sign, a letter, anything! How do you know I haven't moved on, hm? What if I'm married?"

"You're not married."

Quinn ducked the next swing.

"I could be!"

"Where's your wedding ring?" Quinn reached out and took Rachel's left hand. The brunette tried to pull it back but Quinn held on tight and kissed Rachel's bare ring finger.

"You can't just waltz back into my life and expect me to…I mean…you let me think you were dead! I can't just forgive that."

"You can forgive my past as a bloodthirsty murderer but you can't forgive me for laying low for a year to ensure my safety?"

Rachel crossed her arms over her chest. "You could have come to me!"

"I told you, I couldn't do that to you, Rachel. I couldn't bear the thought of you facing the same fate as me if we were caught. I wanted to…so many times I wanted to write you a letter but I couldn't risk it. Santana…"

"So you were on _The Cheerio_?" Rachel cut her off.

Quinn nodded. "I mostly let Santana do the captaining. We didn't kill anyone, I promise."

Rachel sighed. Quinn reached forward and brushed the brunette's hair back and gave a hopeful smile.

"I came back for you, Rachel. I'm here now, okay? I'm here and I'm not leaving again. I packed up everything from _The Cheerio_ and told Santana and Brittany to have fun and gave Juliet to Kurt and here I am. I choose you, Rachel. I love the ocean and I love being out at sea but I love you more. I have enough money to make sure we live really well for a long time. You don't even have to be a housewife, you can keep acting. I'll buy us a house in the city. I'll-"

Quinn was cut off by Rachel's lips on hers and the shorter woman's arms around her neck.

"Right now," Rachel said when she pulled away. "I want nothing more than you and me in my bedroom."

Quinn nodded. "Please God, yes."

...............

Quinn and Rachel lay in bed tangled together, both still awake when the sun peeked through the window of Rachel's room above the theater.

"John was still here," Rachel said after Quinn asked her to tell her about the past year. "Daniel had left the theater and moved on, no one knows exactly where. There was an opening for a female lead and I auditioned with 'Fare Thee Well' and a monologue from _Romeo and Juliet_. I've been in so many amazing plays, Quinn. I wish you could have seen all of them."

"I'll see plenty," Quinn said. "I'll come see you every night."

Rachel grinned and reached up to kiss the blonde. "You realize that I perform the same play for weeks at a time?"

"Okay so I'll hide in your dressing room."

Rachel giggled and snuggled in closer. "What about you? How exactly did you get back to _The Cheerio_? Santana and Brittany told me they were going to Boston."

"I managed to drag myself out of the city and I found them sleeping in a shack on the north edge. The trip was…really exhausting. I probably shouldn't have survived it. Once we got back on _The Cheerio_ I made sure Santana stuck to places we knew really well so we wouldn't be far from here. After we'd been out there a while and I knew it would be safe I told her to get us to New York and I said my goodbyes yesterday morning." Quinn held on tighter to her lover and kissed Rachel's neck.

"You really did give it all up?"

Quinn nodded. "But what I'm getting is so much better."

"You're sure about this? People could still recognize you…"

"Rachel, I'm sure. And no one will recognize me. My father is dead. I heard about it in the Carolinas."

"About a month after…well, after you died," Rachel whispered. "I heard it from the landlord. His company was absorbed into the East India Company. But what about your mother?"

"Even if I saw her again she won't say anything. She's soft."

"Mmm, now I know where you got it from."

Quinn scoffed. Rachel giggled and kissed her.

"I love you, Quinn."

"I love you too."

Rachel grinned and slipped her fingers between Quinn's, looked up at her lover and smiled.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand," the brunette whispered, "This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

Quinn sighed and felt a tear slip down her cheek and she tasted the salt on her lips. Rachel kissed the salty taste away and nuzzled her nose into Quinn's neck.

"Rachel, I…when I was disowned I thought the ocean would be my life forever. I wanted it to be my life forever. I would have been more than happy to die on _The Cheerio_. Then…then I had this moment of madness and took a short brunette hostage."

Rachel playfully hit Quinn's chest and the blonde giggled.

"The ocean is…dull compared to you, Rachel. I'd rather have uncertainty and excitement with you than the same thing every day." Quinn looked down into her lover's eyes and Rachel nervously took her lower lip between her teeth. "You're my forever now."

Rachel wrapped her arms tighter around Quinn and held her close. "I think forever has started out pretty good."

Dark hair. Deep, dark chocolate eyes. A voice that could rival that of an angel's. All things Quinn Fabray loved about her lover. And about her life. She'd loved Rachel since the moment they recited Shakespeare together. She fell asleep with Rachel in her arms every night in the house she bought and she let her mind drift to her future and she smiled. Life was going to be good.

* * *

And that's a wrap! Thank to all of you who took the time to read it, I really appreciate it =)

Before you ask, **there will NOT be a sequel**. Ever. Please don't ask, it'll make Brittany cry.

Again, thank you!


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